Process for producing proteinous material

ABSTRACT

A process for producing a proteinous material which comprises coarsely grinding fish bodies including bones and/or shells, from which the internals had been removed optionally together with heads and/or skins, defatting said coarsely ground fish bodies if required, and either (1) fermenting said coarsely ground fish bodies with an enzyme and/or a microorganism, inactivating said enzyme and/or microorganism and then finely grinding the fermented material; or (2) finely grinding said coarsely ground fish bodies, fermenting the same with an enzyme and/or a microorganism, and then inactivating said enzyme and/or microorganism; or (3) finely grinding said coarsely ground fish bodies while fermenting the same with an enzyme and/or a microorganism and then inactivating said enzyme and/or microorganism is disclosed.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a process for producing a proteinous materialfrom fishes and shellfishes. The proteinous material produced by theprocess of the present invention contains bones and/or shells and ishighly nutritious.

BACKGROUND ART

Fishes and shellfishes have been mainly used in the production of fishcakes which may be prepared, for example, adding starch, common salt,seasonings and water optionally together with other components to groundmeat of fish or shellfish, kneading the resulting mixture, forming thesame into an arbitrary form and then heating the product to therebysolidify the same by taking advantage of the capability of gelation ofproteins contained in the said meat.

These fish cakes are among main processed foods obtained from fishes andshellfishes are an important protein source in Japan. Thus the value offishes and shellfishes as a protein source may be greatly enhanced byemploying them not only in the form of processed foods but also asstarting materials for various food products.

When fishes or shellfishes are used as starting materials for variousfoods, however, the proteins contained therein, having a capability ofgelation, would cause gelation in a heat treatment step commonlyinvolved in the preparation of foods, thus forming heterogeneousundissolved lumps. This is seriously disadvantageous since the inherenttaste of the food is damaged thereby. Thus it is preferable to eliminateor minimize the capability of gelation of fish proteins in theapplication of fishes and shellfishes merely as a protein source forvarious foods, though it is necessary in the production of fish cakes.

Proteinous materials showing no capability of gelation were disclosedin, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63140/1984. However theseproteinous materials are one obtained from fish meat and are poor innutrients such as calcium or iron. In addition, a proteinous materialproduced from fish bodies from which the internals and/or skins areremoved, according to the process as disclosed in the above referencehas an unpleasant texture and fish oil produced therefrom would beoxidized. Thus these products are unsuitable as foods.

Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide aprocess for producing a highly nutritious proteinous material availablein various foods from fish bodies which still contain bones but fromwhich the internals and/or skins have been removed.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a process forproducing a proteinous material having a small capability of gelationand containing large amounts of nutrients such as calcium and iron,which is highly available in various foods unlike conventional fish mealwhich is available only in feeds, from fishes and shellfishes.

Further it is another object of the present invention to provide aprocess for preparing an unoxidized fish oil and a proteinous material,which is available in various foods unlike conventional fish mealavailable only in feeds, from fishes and shellfishes rich in fats.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, the abovementioned objects can beachieved by providing a process for producing a proteinous materialwhich comprises: coarsely grinding fish bodies, from which the internalsand optionally skins and/or heads have been removed; and either (1)fermenting the coarsely ground fish bodies with an enzyme and/or amicroorganism, inactivating said enzyme and/or microorganism and thenfinely grinding the fermented material; or (2) finely grinding thecoarsely ground fish bodies, fermenting the same with an enzyme and/or amicroorganism and then inactivating said enyzme and/or microorganism; or(3) finely grinding the coarsely ground fish bodies while fermenting thesame with an enzyme and/or a microorganism and then inactivating saidenzyme and/or microorganism.

Further the abovementioned objects can be achieved according to thepresent invention by providing a process for producing a proteinousmaterial which comprises: coarsely grinding fish bodies, from which theinternals and optionally the skins and/or heads have been removed;removing fats from the coarsely ground material; and either (1)fermenting the coarsely ground and defatted material with an enzymeand/or a microorganism, inactivating said enzyme and/or microorganismand then finely grinding the fermented material; or (2) finely grindingthe coarsely ground and defatted material, fermenting the same with anenzyme and/or a microorganism and then inactivating said enzyme and/ormicroorganism; or (3) finely grinding the coarsely ground and defattedmaterial while fermenting the same with an enzyme and/or a microorganismand then inactivating said enzyme and/or microorganism.

Now the process for producing a proteinous material of the presentinvention will be described in detail.

Any edible fish or shellfish may be used in the present inventionwithout limitation. Examples thereof include cod, saury, saurel, bonito,mackerel, sardine, tuna, swordfish, yellowtail, salmon of grade C orbelow, such as buna salmon, cuttlefish, octopus, shrimp and shellfishessuch as short-necked clam, clam and corbicula. These fishes may beeither in the raw, frozen or thawed form. They preferably contain 20% byweight or less, still preferably 5% by weight or less, of fats. It ispreferable that fishes rich in fats, such as sardine, are defatted, aswill be described hereinbelow, to thereby lower the fat content thereof.

In the present invention, fish bodies are fermented with an enzymeand/or a microorganism by exposing the fish bodies to an enzyme and/or amicroorganism capable of decomposing proteins.

Examples of the enzyme capable of decomposing proteins to be used in thepresent invention include proteinases such as acrosin, urokinase,uropepsin, elastase, enteropeptidase, cathepsin, kallikrein, kininase 2,chymotrypsin, chymopapain, collagenase, streptokinase, subtilisin,thermolysin, trypsin, thrombin, papain, pancreatopeptidase, ficin,plasmin, renin, reptilase and rennin; peptidases such as aminopeptidasesincluding arginine aminopeptidase, oxycinase and leucine aminopeptidase,angiotensinase, angiotensin converting enzyme, insulinase,carboxypeptidases including arginine carboxypeptidase, kininase 1 andthyroid peptidase, dipeptidases such as carnosinase and prolinase andpronase; and other proteases which are optionally denatured as well ascompositions thereof.

Examples of the microorganism capable of decomposing proteins to be usedin the present invention include molds belonging to the generaAscergillus, Mucor, Rhizopus, Penicillium and Monascus; lactic acidbacteria belonging to the genera Streptococcus, Pediococcus, Leuconostocand Lactobacillus, bacteria such as Bacillus natto and Bacillussubtilis; and yeasts such as Saccharomyces ellicsuideus, Saccharomycescerevisiae and Torula as well as variants and compositions thereof.

An example of the preferable embodiment of the process of the presentinvention will now be given.

From fish bodies, the internals and optionally the heads and/or skinsare removed.

The fish bodies are coarsely ground with, for example, a chopper.

In the case of a fat-rich fish such as sardine, the coarsely ground fishbodies are defatted in, for example, the following manner.

First, it is preferable to heat the fish bodies usually to 70 to 100° C,preferably to 95 to 100° C, usually for 20 to 60 minutes, preferably for30 to 40 minutes. Although the heating process is not particularlyrestricted, it is preferable to employ vapor or boiling water therefor.

Then the fat-rich fish bodies are coarsely ground with, for example, achopper and fats are removed therefrom. The defatting may be carried outby, for example, adding warm water ranging from room temperature to 100°C, preferably from room temperature to 75° C, to the coarsely groundfish bodies in an amount one to five times, preferably once or twice, asmuch as the fish bodies and pouring the resulting mixture into adacanter, while maintaining the above water temperature, at a feed rateof 0.5 to 5 t/hr, preferably 1 to 2 t/hr, to thereby defat the fishbodies. This procedure may be repeated several times, preferably once ortwice, if required.

The defatting may be continued until the fat content of the coarselyground fish bodies is lowered to 20% by weight or less, preferably 5% byweight or less and still preferably 3% by weight or less.

It is preferable to add an antioxidant such as vitamin E, vitamin C orlecithin to the coarsely ground and optionally defatted fish bodies.

The coarsely ground and optionally defatted fish bodies are then treatedby either (1) fermenting the same with an enzyme and/or a microorganism,inactivating said enzyme and/or microorganism and then finely grindingthe fermented material; or (2) finely grinding the same, fermenting thesame with an enzyme and/or a microorganism and then inactivating saidenzyme and/or microorganism; or (3) finely grinding the same whilefermenting the same with an enzyme and/or a microorganism and theninactivating said enzyme and/or microorganism.

As soon as the enzyme and/or microorganism are mixed with the coarselyground fish bodies, they begin to interact with proteins containedtherein, so that the mixture of the enzyme and/or microorganism with thecoarsely ground fish bodies should be maintained at an appropriatetemperature for an appropriate period of time. Such a temperature andperiod may be appropriately determined depending on the employed enzymeand/or microorganism and the taste and the extent of gelation of theaimed proteinous material. Generally speaking, the mixture may bemaintained at 5 to 70° C, preferably 30 to 50° C, for 10 minutes to 6hours, preferably for 30 to 60 minutes. The temperature of the mixturemay be kept on a constant level throughout the period. Alternately, itmay be controlled in two or more steps by, for example, first adjustingthe temperature to a definite level and then to another one.

When the maintenance temperature is to be controlled in two or moresteps, it may be roughly divided into, for example, a low temperaturerange of 5 to 15° C, a moderate temperature range of 15 to 35° C. and ahigh temperature range of 35 to 70° C. When an enzyme is used, themixture may be maintained in the medium or high temperature range duringthe first step and then in the low temperature range in the second step.When an enzyme is used together with a microorganism, the mixture may betreated in the high, moderate or low temperature range by the enzymealone in the first step. Then the mixture is cooled, if required, andthe microorganism is added thereto. After homogeneously mixing, theresulting mixture may be maintained in the moderate or low temperaturerange. When a microorganism is to be used alone, it is preferable tomaintain the mixture in the low or moderate temperature range.

After the enzyme and/or microorganism are added to the coarsely orfinely ground fish bodies, the mixture is finely divided by applying amechanical force thereto or by stirring to thereby give a homogeneousmixture. The mixture may be maintained at the temperature as definedabove for the above-mentioned period of time while applying a mechanicalforce thereto. Alternately, the application of the mechanical force maybe ceased when a homogeneous mixture is obtained and then the mixture isaged. In this case, the mixture may be maintained at the abovementionedtemperature for the abovementioned period of time during the applicationof the mechanical force as well as the subsequent aging.

In the present invention, the mixture may be finely ground by using agrinder such as a stone mill in such a manner as to give a particle sizeof a proteinous material, in particular bones and shells, of 200 μ orless, preferably 100 μ or less.

The relationship of the extent of grinding and texture was evaluated byten panelists. As a result, all panelists evaluated a proteinousmaterial of a particle size of 300 μ or above as coarse and that of aparticle size of 200 to 300 μ as somewhat coarse. Two panelists amongten evaluated that of a particle size of 150 to 200 μ as coarse, whilenone evaluated that of a particle size of 100 μ or less as coarse.

The proteinous material of the present invention may further compriseother components such as other animal protein sources, vegetable proteinsources, animal and vegetable fat sources, carbohydrate sources,inorganic salts, e.g., common salt, recondary sodium phosphate or sodiumpolyphosphate, perfumes, seasonings, taste improvers, antibacterialagents, water, enzymes and/or microorganisms acting on fats andcarbohydrates, emulsifiers, colorants, vitamins, preservatives,sweeteners, amino acids, highly unsaturated fatty acids, vegetableextracts and flavorings, without departing from the scope of theinvention. These additives may be added in any step during the processof the present invention. Namely, they may be added to the fish bodiesat the starting point and then subjected to coarse grinding,fermentation and fine grinding. Alternately, they may be added either inthe fermentation step or after the completion of the treatment. Althoughthese additives (subsidiary components) may be added to the proteinousmaterial which has been treated with the enzyme and/or microorganism, itis significantly preferable to homogeneously disperse the same before,or at least during the treatment with the enzyme and/or microorganism inthe system in order to obtain a homogeneous product. Thus a highlystable system wherein said additives are homogeneously dissolved,emulsified and/or dispersed can be obtained. However it is preferable toadd an edible animal or vegetable fat after the completion of thetreatment of the enzyme and/or microorganism, since it may sometimeslower the activities of the enzyme and/or micro-organism.

Examples of said vegetable protein sources to be used as the additivesinclude vegetable proteinous materials obtained from, for example,soybean, peanut, cottonseed, sesami, sunflower and wheat, defattedproducts thereof, concentrated products thereof and proteins isolatedtherefrom.

Examples of said animal protein sources to be used as the additivesinclude milk and milk products such as animal milk, defatted milk,condensed milk, whole-fat milk powder, defatted milk powder,reconstituted milk powder, butter, cream and cheese; meat such as beef,horseflesh, pork, and mutton, fowls of poultry such as chicken, duck,goose, turkey and others; processed meat such as dry meat and smokedmeat; egg and egg products such as egg, dry egg, frozen egg, yolk andalbumen; fish meat and processed fish meat such as minced fish meat andground fish meat; and other animal proteinous sources such as liver.

Examples of said animal and vegetable fat sources to be used asadditives include animal fats such as lard, beef tallow, mutton tallow,horse tallow, fish oil, whale oil and milk fat; vegetable fats such assoybean oil, linseed oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil,kapok oil, olive oil, wheat germ oil, corn oil, palm oil, palm kerneloil, sal fat, illipe fat, Borneo taro oil and coconut oil; processedfats obtained by hydrogenating, transesterifying or fractionating thesame; and processed fat products such as butter, cream, margarine andshortening.

Examples of said carbohydrate sources to be used as additives includefarm products rich in carbohydrates, such as rice, wheat, corn, potatoand sweet potato; powders obtained by processing the same, such as ricestarch, wheat starch, corn starch and potato starch; processed/denaturedstarch such as gelatinized starch and dextrin; sugars such as sucrose,honey and starch sugar; fruits such as apple, orange, strawberry andgrape; and fruit juices.

Examples of said vitamins to be used as additives include vitamin A,vitamin B₁, vitamin B₂, vitamin B₁₂, vitamin C, vitamin D, pantothenicacid, vitamin E, vitamin H, vitamin K, vitamin L, vitamin M, nicotinicacid, vitamin P, thioctic acid, tioctamide, vitamin R, vitamin S,vitamin T, vitamin U, vitamin V, vitamin W, vitamin X, vitamin Y, luteinand orotic acid. Examples of said amino acids to be used as additivesinclude L-glutamic acid (salt), L-glutamine, glutathione, glycylglycine,D,L-alanine, L-alanine, γ-aminobutyric acid, γ-aminocaproic acid,L-arginine (hydrochloride), L-aspartic acid (salt), L-aspargine,L-citrulline, L-tryptophan, L-threonine, glycine, L-cysteine(derivative), L-histidine (salt), L-hydroxyproline, L-isoleucine,L-leucine, L-lysine (salt), D,L-methionine, L-methionine, L-ornithine(salt), L-phenylalanine, D-phenylglycine, L-proline, L-serine,L-tyrosine and L-valine. Examples of said highly unsaturated fatty acidsinclude linoleic acid, linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid,docosahexaenoic acid and glycerides thereof. Examples of said vegetableextracts include those obtained from various herbs, asparagus andginseng.

It is generally preferable that a proteinous material produced by theprocess of the present invention is treated with an enzyme and/or amicro-organism in such a manner as to give a content of water solubleproteins (i.e., a protein fraction which is not precipitated by adding asolution of sodium tirchloroacetate) of 5 to 50% by weight, stillpreferably 30 to 45% by weight, based on the total proteins. When animalprotein source(s) and/or vegetable protein source(s) are employedtogether with the proteinous material, it is preferable to control thewater-soluble protein content thereof to 5 to 40% by weight, stillpreferably to 20 to 35% by weight. When the water-soluble proteincontent is less than 5% by weight, the residual muscular fibers of theraw fish meat makes the texture and feel of the proteinous materialinsufficiently smooth. When it exceeds 50% by weight (or 40% by weightin the case where animal and/or vegetable protein source(s) are employedtogether), the proteinous material shows an unpreferable bitterness. Itis particularly desirable that a proteinous material produced by theprocess of the present invention comprises 40 to 90% by weight ofpeptides of 40,000 to 70,000 in molecular weight based on the totalpeptides except water-soluble peptides and amino acids.

When allowed to stand as such, the proteinous material thus obtainedwould suffer from deterioration in the physical properties and tastecaused by the decomposition of proteins. Thus it is preferable toimmediately use the proteinous material in the preparation of solid,flowable or liquid food products to thereby inactivate the enzyme and/ormicroorganism contained therein in the heating step involved in thepreparation process of the above food products. Alternately when theproteinous material is not immediately used in the preparation of solid,flowable or liquid foods, it is preferable to inactivate the enzymeand/or microorganism contained therein by heating; to freeze orspray-dry the proteinous material without inactivating the enzyme and/ormicroorganism; or to add a substance capable of inactivating the enzymeand/or microorganism thereto before storing (freezing) the same. Whenfine grinding is to be carried out after the completion of thefermentation, the enzyme and/or microorganism is inactivated by heatingor adding a substance capable of inactivating said enzyme and/ormicroorganism to the proteinous material before finely grinding thefermented material.

The proteinous material produced by the process of the present inventionmay be stored after pasteurizing, packing and freezing or after dryingand powdering.

The proteinous material produced by the process of the presentinvention, which is rich in proteins originating from the whole fishbodies or some parts thereof, is highly useful since it may be used notonly in, for example, oden (Japanese hotchpotch), gruel, noodles,terrine, mousse, meat dumpling, filling of harumaki (Chinese friedfood), coating of gyoza (Chinese fried dumpling), filling of won ton,filling of shao-mai, baby food, custard pudding-like food, tofu (soybeancurd)-like food, yogurt-like food, filling or thickening of hamburgersteak, powdery food, proteinous drink, soup, spread, flowable food forthe aged or sick, sauce, chawan-mushi (Japanese pot-steamedhotchpotch)-like food, cheese-like food, soba (buckwheat noodles)-likefood, mayonnaise-like food, terrine-like food, fry-like food andcoating-like food sometimes as such, but also as a material forpreparing these products.

The proteinous material produced by the process of the present inventionmay be blended with, for example, animal proteins, vegetable proteins,animal and vegetable fats and carbohydrates and used as a food as suchor as a food material.

Particular examples of the production of various foods by using aproteinous material produced by the process of the present invention areas follows.

(1) A process for producing a solid or spreadable food such as aprocessed cheese-like food, cheese spread-like food or liver spread-likefood, which comprises blending a proteinous material produced by theprocess of the present invention with, for example, a vegetable oranimal fat source such as a vegetable oil or butter, and a meltingpromoter such as secondary sodium phosphate, sodium polyphosphate,sodium pyrophosphate or other phosphates optionally together with ananimal or vegetable protein source such as cheese or sodium caseinate,seasonings, food preservatives, carbohydrates, pieces of, for example,shrimp, crab, beef, pork, chicken, liver or short-necked clam,flavorings and extracts; homogenizing the obtained mixture by meltingthe same at 50 to 100° C. under stirring; and then cooling the same.

(2) A process for producing an elastic gel food such as a custardpudding-like food or a jelly-like food, which comprises adding water toa proteinous material produced by the process of the present invention;optionally grinding the mixture to give a slurry; further adding, ifrequired, some additives such as a gelforming agent such as agar,furcellaran, carrageenan, pectin, gelatin, yolk, whole egg or albumen asyneresis inhibitor such as starch, sweeteners, seasonings, perfumes orcolorants thereto; homogenizing the resulting mixture; heating the same;and cooling the same.

(3) A process for producing a flowable or liquid food such as ayogurt-like food or a fermented drink, which comprises adding water to aproteinous material produced by the process of the present invention;optionally adding a fermentation aid such as carrageenan, agar, defattedmilk or other dairy products, glucose or lactose thereto; grinding theresulting mixture to thereby give a slurry of a protein content of 2 to10% by weight; pasteurizing said slurry by heating; adding lactic acidbacteria thereto to thereby ferment the same; and adding, if required,some additives such as sweeteners, perfumes, seasonings or colorantsthereto in any step of the above process.

(4) A process for producing a drink, which comprises mixing a proteinousmaterial produced by the process of the present invention with anaqueous medium such as water, soymilk, milk, fruit juice, vegetablejuice or an aqueous solution containing other ingredients whilegrinding, if required, thus dissolving water-soluble nitrogen-containingcomponents of said proteinous material in said medium and simultaneouslydispersing water-insoluble nitrogen-containing components thereof insaid medium; and pasteurizing the resulting mixture; or adding saidaqueous medium during the process for the production of a proteinousmaterial of the present invention; controlling the resulting mixture tohave an appropriate concentration; and then treating the same with anenzyme and/or a microorganism.

(5) A process for producing a processed wheat flour food such asbiscuit, cookie, wafer, cracker, pretzel, cake, pie, coating of creampuff, doughnut, hot cake, bread, pizza pie, okonomiyaki (Japanesepancake), takoyaki (Japanese octopus dumpling), coating of nikuman(meat-filled bun), coating of anman (bean jam-filled bun), coating ofshao-mai, coating of harumaki or coating of gyoza, which comprisesblending 0.1 to 15 parts by weight, on a solid basis, of a proteinousmaterial produced by the process of the present invention with 100 partsby weight of wheat flour; further adding appropriate components,depending on the aimed processed food, thereto to give a dough; formingsaid dough; and heating the same by, for example, baking, boiling orfrying.

(6) A process for producing a processed soybean protein food such astofu, aburaage (fried thin bean curd), ganmodoki (fried bean curddumpling), namaage (fried thick bean curd), yuba (dried bean curd),fibrous soybean protein food, soybean protein curd, organized soybeanprotein food or soybean protein gel food, which comprises blending 0.1to 4 parts by weight, on a solid basis, of a proteinous materialproduced by the process of the present invention with 100 parts byweight of soybean protein; further adding appropriate additives such asseasonings, spices, colorants, the abovementioned animal or vegetablefat sources, animal protein sources, vegetable protein sources,carbohydrate sources, luxuries, vegetables, meat or fish thereto, ifrequired; and then solidifying the soybean protein in the resultingmixture.

(7) A process for producing an emulsified fat composition available as,for example, in the preparation and/or surface-treatment (spreading) ofa dough for noodles, bread, rice cake, pie, biscuit, cracker, coating ofgyoza, cakes and coating of cream puff or topping or filling for variousfoods, which comprises adding 0.1 to 15% (by weight; the same will applyhereinafter), on a solid basis, of a proteinous material produced by theprocess of the present invention to an aqueous medium such as an aqueoussolution containing other components; optionally grinding the resultingmixture; and adding 10 to 90% by weight of a vegetable fat theretooptionally together with an emulsifier or an emulsion stabilizer, inorder to give a more stably emulsified matter, to thereby form anoil-in-water type emulsion.

(8) A process for producing mochi (rice cake) or rice crackers, whichcomprises using 0.1 to 10 parts by weight, preferably 0.1 to 5 parts byweight, on a solid basis, of a proteinous material produced by theprocess of the present invention, which has been preliminarily heatedand/or ground, per 100 parts by weight of glutinous or nonglutinous riceor flour thereof; and blending these materials in the step of steamingsaid rice or rice flour, when mochi is to be produced; or separatelyheating said proteinous material; and blending the same with said riceor rice flour in the step of pounding the latter, followed by roastingor frying of the obtained mochi dough, if required. In this process, theenzyme and/or microorganism may be inactivated during the productionprocess of said proteinous material or in the heating step of theproduction of the rice crackers.

(9) A process for producing so-called noodles such as udon, soba andChinese noodles as well as wheat-foods to be taken after boiling, i.e.,noodles in a broad meaning, such as nouille, gnocchis, spaghetti ormacaroni, which comprises using 0.1 to 10 parts by weight, preferably0.1 to 5 parts by weight, on a solid basis, of a proteinous materialproduced by the process of the present invention with 100 parts byweight of wheat flour; further using, for example, water, egg or milk ifrequired; and adding said proteinous material to the wheat flour in anappropriate step depending on the aimed noodles, for example, blendingsaid proteinous material to the above materials except for the wheatflour, such as water, before kneading all materials together; kneadingthe wheat flour, the other materials and a proteinous material together;or kneading the wheat flour and the other materials together and thenadding said proteinous material thereto. The enzyme and/or microorganismmay be inactivated either during the production process of saidproteinous material or in the final thermal pasteurizing step of theproduction of the noodles. (10) A process for producing a batter for thecoating of a fried food, which is optionally crumbed, such as friedfish, meat, poultry meat, seaweeds, vegetables or mushrooms, whichcomprises blending 0.1 to 20 parts by weight, preferably 0.1 to 10 partsby weight, on a solid basis, of a proteinous material produced by theprocess of the present invention with 100 parts by weight of wheat flouroptionally together with other components. The expression "fried food"includes not only those to be taken immediately after frying but alsoso-called chilled foods to be taken after storing at a low temperatureas well as pre-cooked frozen foods to be taken after storing in a frozenstate.

(11) A process for producing various seasonings in the form of paste,solid, powder, liquid or flowable, such as sauce, soy sauce, miso (beanpaste), instant curry, dripping or ketchup, which comprises using aproteinous material produced by the process of the present invention inany step of the preparation of the aimed seasoning.

(12) A process for producing a cooking material, which comprisesblending 40 to 80 parts by weight, on a solid basis, of a proteinousmaterial produced by the process of the present invention with 100 partsby weight of wheat flour optionally together with other components.Although the food material thus obtained may be in various forms such asa powder or a dough, it is required to finally formulate the foodmaterial into a dough of a total moisture content of 200 to 500 parts byweight per 100 parts by weight of wheat flour in the cooling process.This dough may be formed into various shapes as such, laminated ontoother food materials, filled into other food materials or wrapped withother food materials. Then the obtained product may be heated by, forexample, baking, boiling, steaming or frying. Thus a cooked foodexcellent in the feel, flavor and texture can be obtained.

(13) A process for producing an emulsified food mainly similar tomayonnaise and sometimes to dressing, which comprises an oil-in-watertype emulsion containing 0.1 to 15% (by weight; the same will applyhereinafter), on a solid basis, of a proteinous material produced by theprocess of the present invention, 45 to 90% of an edible vegetable oil,vinegar and water. It is possible in some cases that these materials areblended in such a manner as to give the composition as defined above inthe production of a proteinous material of the present invention andthen the obtained mixture is treated with an enzyme and/or amicroorganism.

(14) A process for producing an acidic emulsified food mainly similar toa dressing such as salad dressing and sometimes to mayonnaise, whichcomprises an oil-in-water type emulsion containing 0.1 to 5% (by weight;the same will apply hereinafter), on a solid basis, of a proteinousmaterial of the present invention, 10 to 45% of an edible vegetable oil,vinegar and water. It is possible in some cases that these materials areblended in such a manner as to give the composition as defined above inthe production of a proteinous material of the present invention andthen the obtained mixture is treated with an enzyme and/or amicroorganism.

(15) A process for producing a processed egg product such as fried egg,egg cake, chawanmushi, egg roll, omelet, tamago-dofu, custard pudding,pudding, custard or Bavarian, which comprises blending 0.1 to 40 partsby weight, on a solid basis, of a proteinous material produced by theprocess of the present invention with 100 parts by weight of eggs and/oralbumen; further adding other additives or food materials, if required,thereto; and solidifying the resulting mixture by heating.

(16) A process for producing a cooked food such as terrine, moose orquenelle, which comprises blending 0.1 to 40% (by weight; the same willapply hereinafter) of a proteinous material produced by the process ofthe present invention with 5 to 30% of fresh and/or artificial cream, 5to 30% of ground fish meat and common salt; optionally adding variousadditives such as vegetables, small fish blocks or seasonings thereto:and solidifying the resulting mixture by heating.

More particularly, a terrine may be prepared by grinding ground fishmeat while adding common salt thereto and adding fresh or artificialcream, milk, whole egg and a proteinous material produced by the processof the present invention thereto to thereby give a farce (the firststep). Then the farce is optionally mixed with small fish blocks,seasonings and other additives and the resulting mixture is placed in amold and steamed as such in an oven at 150 to 200° C. for 15 to 30minutes (the second step). After cooling, the aimed terrine is obtained.

A mousse may be prepared by grinding ground fish meat while addingcommon salt thereto and optionally adding vegetables, small fish blocks,seasonings and other additives thereto. Then fresh or artificial creamand a proteinous material produced by the process of the presentinvention are further added thereto and the mixture is kneaded until itbecomes homogeneous. The homogeneous mixture is placed in a mold andsteamed as such in an oven at 150 to 200° C. for 15 to 30 minutes. Thusthe aimed mousse is obtained.

A quenelle may be prepared by preliminarily preparing a panade frommilk, butter, wheat flour and whole eggs; grinding ground fish meatwhile adding common salt thereto; adding a proteinous material producedby the process of the present invention to the ground fish meat; furtheradding vegetables, small fish blocks, seasonings and other additivesthereto; and then adding said panade and fresh or artificial creamthereto. Then the resulting mixture is kneaded until it becomeshomogeneous. The homogeneous mixture is formed and heated in boilingwater to thereby give the aimed quenelle.

(17) A process for producing flowable foods ranging from a relativelyless viscous and semiflowable one such as various potage soups,paste-soup, Chinese corn soup, baby foods and foods for the sick oraged, which comprises using a proteinous material produced by theprocess of the present invention in any step of the preparation of theaimed flowable food.

(18) A process for producing a processed meat product such as ham,sausage, bacon, corned beef, hamburger steak, minced meat, meat ball,chicken ball, Chinese meat ball, shrimp dumpling, shrimp ball, fish balland kamaboko, chikuwa and oden-dane (fish-paste products), whichcomprises blending 0.1 to 40 parts by weight, on a solid basis, of aproteinous material produced by the process of the present inventionwith 100 parts by weight of a meat such as fish meat, chicken, beef,pork, mutton or whale meat; optionally adding other materials such asseasonings, spices or colorants thereto; and blending the resultingmixture with, for example, the abovementioned animal or vegetable fatsources, animal protein sources, vegetable protein sources, carbohydratesources and/or luxuries, vegetables, meat or fish.

(19) A process for producing tofu, which comprises blending 5 to 80parts by weight, preferably 15 to 30 parts by weight, on a solid basis,of a proteinous material produced by the process of the presentinvention with 100 parts by weight of a soybean milk powder.

(20) A process for producing konnyaku (devil's tongue), which comprisesblending 10 to 800 parts by weight, preferably 50 to 200 parts byweight, on a solid basis, of a proteinous material produced by theprocess of the present invention with 100 parts by weight of a konjakupowder.

(21) A process for producing Western dishes such as terrine or quenelle,which comprises blending 20 to 500 parts by weight, preferably 50 to 200parts by weight, on a solid basis, of a proteinous material produced bythe process of the present invention with 100 parts by weight of groundfish meat.

(22) A process for producing a tofu-like food, which comprises blending100 parts by weight of a proteinous material produced by the process ofthe present invention with 50 to 150 parts by weight of ground fish meatand 10 to 50 parts by weight, on a solid basis, of a vegetable proteinand/or 20 to 50 parts by weight of eggs, provided that the proteinousmaterial produced by the process of the present invention amounts to 5to 50% by weight, preferably 10 to 30% by weight, of the total product;and heating the obtained mixture.

EXAMPLES

To further illustrates the present invention, and not by way oflimitation, the following Examples will be given.

Example 1

Fish bodies of buna salmon, from which the internals, skins and fins hadbeen removed, were cut with a block cutter (mfd. by Sakura SeisakushoK.K.) and treated with a chopper via a screw conveyer twice to give aminced fish meat containing bones.

To the coarsely ground minced fish meat, 20% by weight of water wasadded and thoroughly mixed.

The resulting fish meat containing bones was fed to a mass colloider (afine-grinding device; mfd. by Masuko Seisakusho K.K.) via a pipe andtreated therewith twice to thereby adjust the particle size of the fishbones to 50 μ or less.

The finely ground bone-containing fish meat was introduced into anenzymatic decomposition tank (mfd. by Stefan). Vitamin E was addedthereto in such an amount as to give a concentration of 500 ppm based onthe fat component of the aimed final product. The resulting mixture wasstirred at a low rate which running warm water through the jacket tothereby elevate the temperature of the material to 50° C. When thetemperature reached 50° C., the temperature of the warm water runningthrough the jacket was adjusted to 50° C. Then 0.1% by weight of aprotease "Protin AC-10" (mfd. by Daiwa Kasei K.K.) dissolved in a smallamount of distilled water was added thereto. After the completion of theaddition, the resulting mixture was stirred at a high rate andmaintained at 50° C. for 30 minutes. Then the temperature of thematerial was rapidly elevated to 75° C. by running warm water at 85° C.through the jacket to thereby inactivate the enzyme.

The product thus obtained was in the form of a paste comprising 79% byweight of water and not more than 1% by weight of fats. Water-solubleproteins in the product amounted to 34% by weight of the total proteins.Peptides of 40,000 to 70,000 in molecular weight contained thereinamounted to 75% by weight based on the total peptides exceptwater-soluble ones and amino acids.

This product was pasteurized on an On-reiter (tradename of a heatsterilizer mfd. by Sakura Seisakusho K.K.) at 100° C. for ten minutes.The resulting product showed a general bacterial count not more than 300cells/g.

Then the pasteurized product was packed in 5-kg portions with a packingmachine (mfd. by Jonan Seisakusho K.K.) and frozen and stored in arefrigerator.

Separately the pasteurized product was dried on a drum drier at 70° C.and powdered to thereby give a powdery product.

Example 2

The internals, ink sac, eyes and mouths were removed from cuttlefish andthe remaining trunks and tentacles were thoroughly washed with water anddrained. Some portion of the material was roasted on charcoal to imparta roast-like odor thereto.

The trunks and tentacles were mixed together and treated with a chopperto thereby give a pasty minced cuttlefish meat.

This minced meat was treated with a mass colloider to thereby adjust aparticle size, in particular that of the tendons contained therein, to50 μ or less. This particle size was satisfactorily achieved by treatingthe minced meat with the mass colloider only once.

The finely ground cuttlefish meat thus obtained was introduced into anenzymatic decomposition tank and stirred at a low rate while runningwarm water through the jacket to thereby elevate the temperature of thematerial to 50° C. When this temperature reached 50° C., the temperatureof the warm water running through the jacket was adjusted to 50° C. Then0.025% by weight of a protease "Amano A" (mfd. by Amano PharmaceuticalCo., Ltd.) dissolved in a small amount of distilled water was addedthereto. After the completion of the addition, the mixture was stirredat a high rate and maintained for 15 minutes. Then the temperature ofthe material was elevated to 65° C. by running warm water at 75° C.through the jacket to thereby inactivate the enzyme.

The obtained product was in the form of a paste comprising 78% by weightof water and having an excellent eating texture and a roast-like odor.Water-soluble proteins contained in the product amounted to 28% byweight of the total proteins. Peptides of 40,000 to 70,000 in molecularweight contained therein amounted to 55% by weight based on the totalpeptides except water-soluble ones and amino acids.

This product was pasteurized on an On-reiter at 100° C. for ten minutes.The pasteurized product had a general bacterial count of not more than300 cells/g.

The pasteurized product was slowly dried in a drum drier by blowing anair stream at 70°C. thereto and then ground. Thus a powdery cuttlefishproduct having a roast-like odor and containing 5% by weight of moisturewas obtained.

Example 3

Thoroughly washed short-necked clams with shells were blended with thesame amount of shelled short-necked clams. The mixture was treated withsteam at 100° C. for ten minutes, thus simultaneously pasteurizing thesame and inactivating the enzymes contained in the shellfish per se.

The obtained mixture was coarsely ground by treating with a chopperthrice to thereby give a minced material comprising shells as well asmeat.

This minced material was introduced into a mixing tank and the drainedwater containing the short-necked clam extract, obtained in thesteam-heating step as described above, was added thereto. The resultingmixture was thoroughly mixed.

This mixture was fed into a mass colloider via a pipe and treatedtherewith thrice to thereby adjust the particle size, in particular thatof the contained shells, to 60 μ or less.

To the finely ground short-necked clam mixture thus obtained, vitamins Eand C were added in such amounts as to give concentrations of 500 ppmand 100 ppm, respectively, based on the fat component of the aimed finalproduct. The resulting mixture was introduced into an enzymaticdecomposition tank and stirred at a low rate while running warm waterthrough the jacket to thereby elevate the temperature of the material to50° C.

When this temperature reached 50° C, the temperature of the warm waterrunning through the jacket was adjusted to 50° C. and 0.03% by weight ofa protease "Protin AC-10" dissolved in a small amount of distilled waterwas added thereto. After the completion of the addition, the mixture wasstirred at a high rate and maintained for 15 minutes. Then thetemperature of the material was rapidly elevated to 80° C. by runningwarm water at 85° C. through the jacket to thereby inactivate theenzyme.

The product thus obtained was in the form of a paste having such asmooth eating texture as to make the presence of the shells hardlynoticeable. Water-soluble proteins contained therein amounted to 28% byweight based on the total proteins. Peptides of 40,000 to 70,000 inmolecular weight amounted to 65% by weight based on the total peptidesexcept water-soluble ones and amino acids.

This product was pasteurized on an On-reiter at 100° C. for ten minutes.The general bacterial count of the obtained product was not more than300 cells/g.

Then the pasteurized product was packed, frozen and stored.

Separately, 50% by weight of enzymatically decomposed dextrin was addedto the pasteurized product. The resulting mixture was dried by blowingan air stream at 180° C. thereto from a spray drier. Thus a powderyproduct, which had a smooth eating texture and a taste of short-neckedclam, was highly dispersible in water and contained 5% by weight ofmoisture, was obtained. Example 4

Thoroughly washed codfish bodies, from which the internals, skins andfins had been removed, were treated with a chopper (mfd. by HanakiSeisakusho K.K.) thrice to give a minced meat.

The minced meat containing bones was introduced into an enzymaticdecomposition tank. Then vitamins C and E were added thereto in suchamounts as to give concentrations of 100 ppm and 500 ppm, respectively,based on the fat component in the aimed final product. The resultingmixture was stirred at a low rate.

Then the temperature of the material was elevated to 50° C. by runningwarm water at 50° C. through the jacket. 0.05% by weight of a protease"Amano A" (mfd. by Amano Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) dissolved in a smallamount of water was added thereto. After the completion of the addition,the mixture was stirred at a high rate and maintained at a temperatureof the material of 50° C. for 25 minutes. Then the temperature wasrapidly elevated to 75° C. by running warm water at 85° C. through thejacket to thereby inactivate the enzyme.

The product thus treated with the enzyme was in the form of a pastecomprising 65% by weight of water and not more than 3% by weight offats. Water-soluble proteins contained therein amounted to 32% by weightof the total proteins contained therein. Peptides of 40,000 to 70,000 inmolecular weight amounted to 69% by weight based on the total peptidesother than water-soluble ones and amino acids.

The enzymatically treated paste product still showed a somewhat coarsefeel caused by the fish bones. Thus it was further fed into a masscolloider and finely ground therewith twice to thereby adjust theparticle size, in particular that of fish bones, to 80 μ or less.

After finely grinding, the product was pasteurized with an On-reiter at100° C. for ten minutes. The general bacterial count of the pasteurizedproduct was not more than 300 cells/g.

After the pasteurization, the product was packed in 5-kg portions andfrozen and stored in a refrigerator at -30° C.

Example 5

Codfish bodies, from which the internals, skins and fins had beenremoved, were treated with a chopper twice to thereby give a mincedmeat. The coarsely ground minced meat containing fish bones, thusobtained, was combined with 10% by weight of water and thoroughly mixed.

The bone-containing fish meat was fed into a mass colloider via a pipeand treated therewith twice to thereby adjust the particle size, inparticular that of the fish bones, to 50 μ or less.

The finely ground bone-containing fish meat was introduced into anenzymatic decomposition tank. Then vitamins C and E were added theretoin such amounts as to give concentrations of 100 ppm and 500 ppm,respectively, based on the fat component in the aimed final product. Theresulting mixture was stirred at a low rate while running warm water at50° C. through the jacket to thereby elevate the temperature of thematerial to 50° C. Then 0.01% by weight of a protease "Pro ADX-25" (mfd.by Asahi Denka K.K.) dissolved in a small amount of distilled water wasadded thereto. The resulting mixture was stirred at a high rate andmaintained at 50° C. for 15 minutes. Then the temperature of thematerial was rapidly elevated to 75° C. or above by running warm waterat 85° C. through the jacket to thereby inactivate the enzyme.

Separately, Streptococcus lactis and Lactobacillus bulgaricus wereinoculated into a 10% aqueous solution of skim milk and cultured at 37°C. for 24 hours to thereby give a starter.

After inactivating the enzyme, the mixture was stirred at a low ratewhile running warm water at 40° C. through the jacket to therebyadjusting the temperature of the material to 40° C. 5% by weight of thelactic acid bacteria starter was added thereto and the resulting mixturewas stirred at a high rate for five minutes. After ceasing the stirring,the mixture was maintained at 40° C. for eight hours.

The enzymatically treated and fermented product thus obtained was in theform of a paste comprising 81% by weight of water and not more than 1%by weight of fats. Water-soluble proteins contained therein amounted to36% by weight of the total proteins. Peptides of 40,000 to 70,000 inmolecular weight amounted to 78% by weight of the total peptides exceptwater-soluble ones and amino acids.

The fermented product was immediately pasteurized with an On-reiter at100° C. for 15 minutes, packed in 5-kg portions and then frozen andstored at -30° C.

Example 6

A thoroughly washed scallop mixture comprising 50 parts of taeniae, 30parts of spat and 20 parts of shells was pasteurized by steaming at 100°C. for ten minutes to thereby inactivate the enzymes contained in thetaeniae and spat per se. Then the mixture was frozen.

The mixture was coarsely ground by treating with a chopper thrice tothereby give a minced material containing the shells, taeniae and spat.

This minced material was introduced into a mixing tank and the draincontaining the scallop extract obtained in the steaming step was addedthereto. The resulting mixture was thoroughly mixed.

The mixture was fed into a mass colloider (mfd. by Masuko SeisakushoK.K.) via a pipe and treated therewith thrice to thereby adjust theparticle size, in particular that of the shells, to 80 μ or less.

To the finely ground scallop mixture, vitamins E and C were added insuch amounts as to give concentrations of 500 ppm and 100 ppm,respectively, based on the fat component in the aimed final product. Themixture thus obtained was introduced into an enzymatic decompositiontank and stirred at a low rate while running warm water through thejacket to thereby elevate the temperature of the material to 50° C.

When this temperature reached 50° C, the temperature of the warm waterrunning through the jacket was controlled to 50° C. and 0.02% by weightof a protease "Amano A" dissolved in a small amount of distilled waterwas added thereto.

After the completion of the addition, the mixture was stirred at a highrate and maintained for 20 minutes. Then the temperature of the materialwas rapidly elevated to 80° C. by running warm water at 85° C. throughthe jacket to thereby inactivate the enzyme.

The product thus obtained was in the form of a paste having such asmooth eating texture as to make the presence of the shells hardlynoticeable.

Water-soluble proteins contained in the product amounted to 36% byweight based on the total proteins. Peptides of 40,000 to 70,000 inmolecular weight amounted to 67% by weight based on the total peptidesexcept water-soluble ones and amino acids.

This product was pasteurized with an On-reiter at 100° C. for tenminutes. The pasteurized product showed a general bacterial count notmore than 300 cells/g.

After the pasteurization, the product was continuously packed with apacking machine (mfd. by Jonan Seisakusho K.K.), frozen and stored.

Separately, 30% by weight of dextrin was added to the pasteurizedproduct and thoroughly mixed. The resulting mixture was dried by blowinga hot air stream at 180° C. thereto from a spray dryer. Thus a powderyproduct containing 6% by weight of moisture, which had a smooth eatingtexture and a scallop-like taste and was highly dispersable in water,was obtained.

Example 7

A thoroughly washed mixture comprising 50 parts of eel heads and 50parts of eel bones was coarsely ground by treating with a chopper twiceto thereby give a minced material.

This minced material was introduced into a mixing tank. Then vitamins Eand C were added thereto in such amounts as to give concentrations of500 ppm and 100 ppm, respectively, based on the fat component in theaimed final product. The resulting mixture was fed into a mass colloidervia a pipe and treated therewith twice to thereby adjust the particlesize, in particular that of bones, to 60 μ or less.

The finely ground material was introduced into an enzymaticdecomposition tank and stirred at a low rate while running warm waterthrough the jacket to thereby elevate the temperature of the material to50° C.

When this temperature reached 50° C, the temperature of the warm waterrunning through the jacket was adjusted to 50° C. 0.05% by weight of aprotease "Protin AC-10" dissolved in a small amount of distilled waterwas added to the material.

After the completion of the addition, the mixture was stirred at a highrate and maintained for 20 minutes. Then the temperature of the materialwas rapidly elevated to 80° C. by running warm water at 85° C. throughthe jacket to thereby inactivate the enzyme.

The product thus obtained was in the form of a paste having such asmooth eating texture as to make the presence of the bones hardlynoticeable.

Water-soluble proteins contained in the product amounted to 39% byweight based on the total proteins. Peptides of 40,000 to 70,000 inmolecular weight contained therein amounted to 70% by weight based onthe total peptides except water-soluble ones and amino acids.

This product was pasteurized with an On-reiter (mfd. by SakuraSeisakusho K.K.) at 100° C. for ten minutes. The pasteurized product hada general bacterial count of not more than 300 cells/g.

After the pasteurization, the product was continuously packed with apacking machine, frozen and stored.

Separately the pasteurized product was dried with a drum dryer at 70° C.and ground with a mill. Thus a powdery product containing 7% by weightof moisture, which had a smooth eating texture and an eel-like taste andwas highly dispersible in water, was obtained.

Example 8

Codfish bodies, from which the internals, skins and fins had beenremoved, were treated in the same manner as the one described in Example1 to thereby give a finely ground composition (i.e., a codfish meatslurry). 10 kg of the finely ground composition was sterilized with ahigh-pressure sterilizer at 120° C. for three seconds and thenintroduced into a Stefan UM12. 1 kg of a culture medium of lactic acidbacteria, which had been preliminarily prepared by culturingStreptococcus lactis and Lactobacillus bulgaricus together, eachprovided by Ferment. Inst. of Osaka Univ., in a milk medium, thereto.Then 5 g of a proteinase "Amano A" (mfd. by Amano Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd.) dissolved in a small amount of sterilized water was further addedthereto.

After the completion of the addition, the resulting mixture was stirredat a low rate for three hours while maintaining the temperature of thematerial at 45±2° C. by running warm water at 45° C. through the jacket.Then the temperature of the water running through the jacket waselevated to 95° C. and this temperature was maintained for 30 minutesthus simultaneously inactivating the proteinase and decreasing thenumber of the cells of the lactic acid bacteria. Then the temperature ofthe material was lowered to 10° C. by running ice-water through thejacket.

Thus a proteinous material in the form of a white paste having asomewhat excellent aroma and a solid content of 20% by weight, which wasthe aimed product of the present invention, was obtained.

This white paste proteinous material contained water-soluble proteins(in a trichloroacetic acid solution) of 45% by weight based on the totalproteins contained therein.

Example 9

Red salmon bodies, from which the internals, skins and fins had beenremoved, were cut with a block cutter, ground with a freezing chopperand then finely ground with a mass colloider (mfd. by Masuko SangyoK.K.) at a grinder clearance of 10 mm and then 3 mm to thereby given aparticle size not more than 100 μ. The temperature of the material wasmaintained around 30° C. by running cooling water through the masscolloider.

The finely ground salmon fish still showed a coarse feel and a poortaste. 20 kg of this finely ground composition, i.e., the salmon meatslurry was introduced into a Stefan UM12 (mfd. by Stefan) together with5 kg of soybean protein and 5 kg of corn starch. The temperature of theresulting mixture was controlled to 50° C. by running warm water at 50°C. through the jacket. When this temperature reached 50° C, 20 g of aproteinase "Amano A" and 3 g of lysozyme, which was employed in order toinhibit the growth of contaminating bacteria, each dissolved in a smallamount of distilled water, were added thereto.

After the completion of the addition, the temperature of the finelyground composition was stirred for 30 minutes at a high rate whilemaintaining the temperature thereof at 50±2° C. Then the temperature ofthe water running through the jacket was elevated to 95° C. to therebyinactivate the proteinase. Subsequently the temperature of thecomposition was lowered to 10° C. by running ice-water through thejacket.

Thus a proteinous material in the form of a red viscous paste having asolid content of 40% by weight and containing starch, which was theaimed product of the present invention, was obtained.

This red viscous paste containing starch comprised water-solubleproteins (in a trichloroacetic acid solution) of 25% by weight based othe total proteins contained therein.

Example 10

Codfish bodies, from which the internals, skins and fins had beenremoved, were cut with a block cutter, fed into a chopper (mfd. byHanaki Seisakusho K.K.) via a screw conveyer and treated with saidchopper twice to thereby give a minced fish meat containing bones.

This fish meat was introduced into a double-wall mixing tank and thetemperature of the material was adjusted to 40° C. by running warm waterat 40° C. between the walls. Then 5% by weight of a lactic bacterium(Streptococcus lactis), which had been cultured in a skim milk medium,and 1% by weight of skim milk were added thereto. Simultaneously 0.02%by weight of a proteinase "Protin AC-10" (mfd. by Daiwa Kasei K.K.)dissolved in a small amount of water and vitamins E and C, which wereemployed in such amounts as to give concentrations of 500 ppm and 200ppm, respectively, based on the fat component in the aimed finalproduct, were added thereto and the resulting mixture was mixed.

The obtained fish meat mixture containing bones was fed into a masscolloider via a pipe and treated therewith twice to thereby adjust theparticle size, in particular, that of the fish bones, to 80 μ or less.

The obtained material was pasteurized on an On-reiter at 100° C. for tenminutes.

After the pasteurization, the product was packed in 5-kg portions with apacking machine (mfd. by Jonan Seisakusho K.K.) and frozen and stored ina refrigerator at -30° C.

Separately the pasteurized product was dried with a drum dryer byblowing a hot air stream at 70° C thereto. Thus a product in the form ofa snow-white powder was obtained.

Example 11

Codfish bodies, from which the internals, skins and fins had beenremoved, were cut with a block cutter and treated with a chopper (mfd.by Hanaki Seisakusho K.K.) via a screw conveyer twice to thereby give aminced fish meat containing bones.

The bone-containing minced fish meat was introduced into a double-wallmixing tank and 5% by weight of lactic acid bacteria, i.e.,Streptococcus lactis and Streptococcus cremoris, which had beenpreliminarily cultured in a skim milk medium, and 1% by weight of skimmilk were added thereto. The resulting mixture was mixed while runningwarm water at 40° C. between the walls to thereby elevate thetemperature thereof to 40° C. Simultaneously vitamins E and C were addedthereto in such amounts as to give concentrations of 500 ppm and 200ppm, respectively, based on the fat component in the aimed finalproduct.

The bone-containing fish meat mixture containing the lactic acidbacteria was fed into a mass colloider via a pipe and treated therewithto thereby adjust the particle size, in particular, that of the fishbones to 50 μ or less.

The product thus obtained was in the form of a paste comprising 81% byweight of water and not more than 0.5% by weight of fats. Water-solubleproteins contained therein amounted to 29% by weight based on the totalproteins. Peptides of 40,000 to 70,000 in molecular weight containedtherein amounted to 60% by weight based on the total peptides exceptwater-soluble ones and amino acids.

After treating with the mass colloider, the product was pasteurized withan On-reiter at 100° C for ten minutes.

The general bacterial count of this product was not more than 300cells/g.

After the pasteurization, the product was packed in 5-kg portions with apacking machine (mfd. by Jonan Seisakusho K.K.) and frozen and stored ina refrigerator at -30° C.

Separately the pasteurized product was dried with a drum dryer byblowing a hot air stream at 70° C thereto to thereby give a product inthe form of a snow-white powder.

Example 12

Codfish bodies, from which the internals, skins and fins had beenremoved, were cut with a block cutter, fed into a chopper (mfd. byHanaki Seisakusho K.K.) via a screw conveyor and treated therewith twiceto thereby give a minced fish meat containing bones.

The bone-containing minced fish meat was introduced into a double-wallmixing tank and 5% by weight of hot water was added thereto. Theresulting mixture was thoroughly mixed while running hot water betweenthe walls to thereby elevate the temperature of the mixture to 45° C.When this temperature reached 45° C, vitamins E and C were added theretoin such amounts as to give each a concentration of 500 ppm based on thefat component in the aimed final product. Then 0.05% by weight of aproteinase "Protin AC-10" (mfd. by Daiwa Kasei K.K.) and 0.1% by weightof another proteinase "Amano A" (mfd. by Amano Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd.), each dissolved in a small amount of water, were added thereto andmixed.

The resulting bone-containing fish meat mixture was fed into a masscolloider via a pipe and treated therewith twice to thereby adjust theparticle size, in particular, that of the fish bones, to 80 μ or less.Approximately 20 minutes were taken from the addition of the enzymes tothe completion of the treatment with the mass colloider.

The product thus obtained was in the form of a paste comprising 82% byweight of water and not more than 0.5% by weight of fats. Water-solubleproteins contained in the product amounted to 39% by weight based on thetotal proteins contained therein. Peptides of 40,000 to 70,000 inmolecular weight contained therein amounted to 70% by weight based onthe total peptides except water-soluble ones and amino acids.

This product was treated with a mass colloider and then immediatelytreated with an On-reiter at 100° C. for ten minutes, thussimultaneously pasteurizing the same and inactivating the enzymes. Thepasteurized product showed a general bacterial count not more than 300cells/g and the enzymes contained therein were completely inactivated.

After the pasteurization, the product was packed in 5-kg portions with apacking machine (mfd. by Jonan Seisakusho K.K.) and frozen and storedwith a refrigerator at -30° C.

Separately 20% by weight of an enzymatically decomposed dextrin"Toyoderin" was added to the pasteurized product and the resultingmixture was spray-dried to thereby give a product in the form of asnow-white powder.

Example 13: Preparation of scallop bar

300 g of the proteinous material in the form of a pale yellow paste, asprepared in Example 6, 700 g of ground codfish meat and 2 g of commonsalt were thoroughly kneaded with a Robot Coupe (mfd. by Robot Coupe) ata temperature not higher than 10° C. Then the kneaded material wasextruded from a nozzle having a gauzy tip into boiling water andsolidified to thereby give a fibrous composition. On the other hand, 500g of the proteinous material in the form of a white paste, as preparedin Example 4, 500 g of ground codfish meat and 2 g of common salt werekneaded with a Robot Coupe (mfd. by Robot Coupe) at a temperature of thematerial not higher than 10° C. The obtained mixture was spread onto amoist cloth in a thickness of approximately 3 mm. The fibrouscomposition as prepared above was placed thereon and wrapped therewith.Thus a product in the form of a bar containing the fibrous compositionas the core was obtained. Then the product on the cloth was steamed assuch at the boiling temperature for approximately 30 minutes.

After the completion of the steaming, a scallop bar product, which hadan excellent scallop taste and contained 30 to 45% of scallops, wasobtained. This product was not coarse but showed a smooth texture.Example 14: Preparation of spaghettis

130 g of the proteinous material in the form of a pale brown paste, asprepared in Example 3, 300 g of semihard wheat flour, 3 g of commonsalt, 10 g of gluten and 5 g of lecithin were mixed together in a mixingtank of a test noodle-making machine for 30 minutes until the mixturewas hardened into a mass when clasped with a hand. Then the mixture waspressed twice or thrice at a roll clearance of 5. Thus the powderymixture was pressed into a narrow strip. Then the narrow strip wasfolded to give a two-layer product at a roll clearance of 6. Thisprocedure was repeated three or four times and then the material waskneaded and pressed. Finally the material was pressed twice at a rollclearance of 4 to thereby give a product in the form of a narrow strip.This product was cut with a teeth-cutter (3 mm×3 mm) to thereby givespaghettis of 3 mm square.

These spaghettis were boiled in a conventional manner. After placingfried short-necked clams thereon, the spaghettis were taken by way oftrial. As a result, the spaghettis showed an appropriate hardness, anexcellent taste of short-necked clam and a smooth texture.

Example 15: Preparation of drink

100 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 4 was introducedinto a beaker. Then 3 g of gum arabic, 1 g of carboxymethyl cellulose ofa low viscosity, which will be abbreviated to CMC hereinafter, 30 g ofsucrose and 0.5 g of citric acid dissolved in 100 g of water were addedthereto. The resulting mixture was homogeneously blended with ahomomixer to give a solution. Then 10 g of corn oil was emulsified intosaid solution at a high rate and 200 g of water was added thereto andhomogeneously mixed. The resulting mixture was pasteurized at 100° C.for 30 minutes and then cooled to 40° C. Subsequently an appropriateamount of an orange essence was added thereto to thereby give a drink.The drink thus obtained was in the form of a milky drink having anorange flavor.

Example 16: Preparation of drink

100 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 8 was introducedinto a beaker. Then 300 g of water, 15 g of sucrose and 2 g of CMC wereadded thereto to prepare a solution by using a homomixer. Then 300 g ofsoy milk was further added thereto to give a drink. This drink had goodbody and a characteristic flavor which was never observed inconventional ones.

Example 17: Preparation of drink

100 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 3 was introducedinto a beaker. Then 3 g of gum arabic, 30 g of sucrose and 0.5 g ofcitric acid dissolved in 100 g of water were added thereto. The mixturewas homogeneously mixed with a homomixer to thereby give a solution.Then 10 g of corn oil was emulsified into said solution at a high rateand 200 g of water was further added thereto. The resulting mixture washomogeneously mixed. Furthermore 100 g of orange juice was added theretoto thereby give a drink. The obtained product was in the form of a milkydrink having an orange flavor.

Example 18: Preparation of drink

Buna salmon bodies, from which the internals, skins and fins had beenremoved, were coarsely ground and then finely ground into particles of asize not more than 100 μ. 100 g of the product thus obtained was thawedand mixed with 3.0 g of common salt and 0.2 g of sodium pyrophosphate.The resulting mixture was kneaded with an agitation mill provided with atemperature-controlling jacket and a stirrer to thereby give a pastyproduct. The temperature of the pasty material was elevated to 50° C. byrunning warm water through the jacket. 0.05 g of a proteinase "Amano A"and 50 ppm of lysozyme for inhibiting the growth of contaminatingbacteria, each dissolved in a small amount of water, were added thereto.After the completion of the addition, the mixture was stirred at a highrate and kneaded for 15 minutes while maintaining the same at 50° C.After 15 minutes, 10 g of skim milk was immediately added thereto andthe stirring was continued for additional 15 minutes. Then the jackettemperature was immediately elevated to 80° C. and this temperature wasmaintained for 30 minutes to thereby inactivate the enzyme. Then waterwas added to the pasty material in such an amount as to give a solidconcentration thereof of 9 to 10% by weight. The resulting mixture wasstirred with a homomixer, pasteurized at 90 to 95° C. for five minutesand then cooled to 37° C. 3 g of a starter comprising a mixture ofLactobacillus bulgaricus with Streptococcus thermophilus, which had beenpreliminarily cultured, was added thereto and the obtained mixture wasfermented in a thermostat at 37° C. for six hours. Separately 5 g ofsucrose was mixed with 3 g of an asparagus extract and 0.2 g of ascorbicacid under sterile conditions. The resulting mixture was homogeneouslymixed with the abovementioned fermented material in a homomixer, cooledand poured into containers by portions to thereby give a drink. Thisdrink showed a stable growth of the bacteria and had a refreshing feel.

Example 19: Preparation of drink

Codfish bodies, from which the internals, skins and fins had beenremoved, were coarsely ground and then finely ground into particles of asize not more than 100 μ. 100 g of this material was thawed and thetemperature thereof was elevated to 50° C. in an agitation mill providedwith a temperature-controlling jacket and a stirrer while stirring. 3 gof a refined fish oil containing 20% of eicosapentaenoic acid, 0.5 g ofα-tocopherol and 5 g of a spray-dried yogurt powder were added thereto.The resulting mixture was stirred at a high rate while slowly addingwater thereto in such a manner as to give a solid content of 9 to 10%.0.05-g portions of proteinases "Pronase" (mfd. by Kaken Chemical Co.,Ltd.) and "Amano A" and 50 ppm of lysozyme, which was used in order toinhibit the growth of contaminating bacteria, each dissolved in a smallamount of water, were added thereto. After the completion of theaddition, the mixture was kneaded by stirring at a high rate at 50° C.for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, 10 g of skim milk was added theretoand the stirring was continued at 50° C. for additional 15 minutes. Thenthe temperature of the jacket was immediately elevated to 80° C. andthis temperature was maintained for 30 minutes to thereby inactivate theenzymes. Separately 3 g of an asparagus extract, 0.2 g of ascorbic acidand 0.5 g of citric acid were blended together under sterile conditions.The resulting mixture was homogenized with the enzymatically decomposedmaterial as obtained above with a homomixer. This material waspasteurized at 95° C. for five minutes, cooled and poured into sterilecontainers by portions to thereby give a drink. This drink formed anexcellent emulsion with an oil and had a refreshing feel.

Example 20: Preparation of petit bun

10 g of live yeast was dissolved in 40 cc of warm water. Separately alarge spoonful of skim milk, a large spoonful of sugar and a 2/3 smallspoonful of common salt were dissolved in 50 cc of warm water. Thesesolutions were combined together and further mixed with 60 g of theproteinous material as prepared in Example 5 and a half of an egg. Theresulting mixture was added to 200 g of hard wheat flour and kneaded. Alarge spoonful of butter was further added thereto and thoroughlykneaded. Then the mixture was fermented at 130° C. for 40 to 50 minutes.Then it was degassed, divided into six to eight portions, rounded andaged. Then each portion was formed into a leaf-shape and fermented on anoven plate at 38° C. for 40 minutes. Finally it was baked in an oven at180 to 190° C. for 13 minutes to thereby give a petit bun.

This petit bun had an excellent appearance, a nice smell and a goodtaste.

Example 21: Preparation of cream puff coating

90 cc of water and 35 g of butter were introduced into a pot and heated.When the mixture came to boil, 60 g of soft wheat flour was addedthereto and quickly mixed. When a smooth mass was formed, the heatingwas stopped. Then 30 g of the proteinous material as prepared in Example1 and two eggs were added thereto and the resulting mixture was kneadeduntil a viscous dough was obtained. This dough was placed on anoil-coated oven plate with a spoon by portions and baked in an oven at200° C. for ten minutes. When the dough was colored, the bakingtemperature was lowered to 180° C. and the baking was continued foradditional eight minutes to thereby give a cream puff coating.

This coating had an excellent appearance, a nice small and a good taste.

Example 22: Preparation of okonomiyaki

150 g of soft wheat flour, a 4/3 cup of water and an appropriate amountof common salt were thoroughly mixed together. Then an egg and 100 g ofthe proteinous material as obtained in Example 2 were added thereto tothereby give a dough. Some portion of this dough was roasted on a hotplate. Cabbage pieces, Welsh onion pieces, dried shrimps and green layerwere placed thereon and the obtained material was covered with theresidual dough. The product was turned over and further roasted tothereby give an okonomiyaki.

This okonomiyaki had an excellent appearance, a nice smell and a goodtaste.

Example 23: Preparation of bread crumbs

To 200 g of hard wheat flour, 4 g of common salt, 10 g of sugar and 4 gof skim milk dissolved in 60 cc of hot water as well as 20 g of theproteinous material as obtained in Example 9 were added. The resultingmixture was kneaded while further adding 4 g of yeast dissolved in 60 ccof warm water, 0.2 g of yeast food and 10 g of shortening. The obtainedmixture was thoroughly kneaded. Then the material was fermented at 30°C. for approximately one hour, degassed, further fermented at 30° C. forapproximately one hour and degassed to thereby give a dough. Then thedough was baked in an oven at 200° C. for 20 minutes. The bread thusobtained was dried and milled to thereby give bread crumbs.

These bread crumbs had a nice smell and a good taste.

Example 24: Preparation of cracker

50 g of sieved wheat flour, 20 g of water, 0.2 g of yeast and 0.4 g ofcommon salt were introduced into a container, thoroughly mixed andkneaded to thereby give a dough. This dough was fermented at 30° C. forten hours. Separately 150 g of wheat flour was introduced into anothercontainer and 25 g of shortening was kneaded therewith. Further 1.5 g ofcommon salt, 0.6 g of sodium bicarbonate and 40 g of the proteinousmaterial as prepared in Example 5 were added thereto and thoroughlymixed. To the resulting mixture, the fermented dough as obtained abovewas added and the obtained mixture was kneaded and fermented at 30° C.for four hours. Then it was spread over with a rolling pin in athickness of approximately 0.5 mm, cut into pieces (3 cm×5 cm) and bakedat 270° C. for three minutes to thereby give crackers.

These crackers had a good color of baking and a characteristic andexcellent taste.

Example 25: Preparation of tofu and aburaage

To 300 g of a soy milk for the production of tofu, which had beenprepared in a conventional manner and maintained at 80° C, 20 g of theproteinous material as obtained in Example 2 and 0.5 g of gum xanthandissolved or dispersed in 50 g of water were added and the resultingmixture was homogenized. Then 37 g of solid nigari (brine) dissolved in180 cc of water and 3 cc of a solidifier were added thereto and themixture was thoroughly stirred. After 10 to 15 minutes, the mixture wasintroduced into a solidifying box covered with a cotton cloth and putunder a lid. A stone was placed on the lid for pressing. When thecontents showed an appropriate hardness, they were taken out togetherwith the cloth and immersed in water for two hours. Then the product wascut into an appropriate size to thereby give a tofu.

This tofu had a characteristic flavor, an excellent texture and a goodtaste.

The tofu thus obtained was sliced and squeezed between cloth sheets.Then it was fried in oil. The aburaage thus obtained had an excellentcolor of baking and a good taste.

Example 26: Preparation of emulsified fat for kneading

500 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 9, 3 g of skimmilk and 1 g of lecithin were introduced into a beaker. 100 g of waterwas added thereto and the resulting mixture was stirred at a low ratewith a homomixer (mfd. by Nippon Kakoki K.K.). After the completion ofthe mixing, 500 g of salad oil was slowly added thereto while stirringthe mixture at a high rate. After the completion of the addition, theresulting mixture was stirred for additional five minutes. Thus aviscous emulsified composition was obtained.

140 g of this emulsified composition was introduced into a container ofa small whipper and 100 g of soft wheat flour, 100 g of sugar, 100 ofeggs, 1 g of common salt, 1 g of baking powder and 2 g of rum were addedthereto. The obtained mixture was beaten at a high speed for two minutesto thereby give a homogeneous cake dough.

Oil was thinly applied to a pound cake mold and a sheet of paper wasplaced therein. Then the above cake dough was introduced thereinfour-fifth fill and baked in an oven at approximately 170° C. for 40minutes. Thus a pound cake was obtained.

This pound cake was tasty.

Example 27: Preparation of mochi

200 g of glutinous rice was washed, immersed in water overnight and thenstrained. Then it was steamed together with 60 g of the proteinousmaterial as obtained in Example 2 and pounded with a mochi-makingmachine to thereby give a mochi dough. 2/3 of this mochidough was cutinto rectangles, while the residual 1/3 thereof was cut into pieces,dried and fried in oil. Each product showed a good taste. In particular,the fried mochi was superior in the nice smell and good taste toconventional ones containing no proteinous material paste.

Example 28: Preparation of senbei (rice cracker)

To 500 g of rice flour, 100 g of the proteinous material as obtained inExample 5 and 300 g of water were added. After kneading, the resultingmixture was divided into approximately 15-g portions and steamed. Thenthese portions were combined together and thoroughly kneaded again. Theobtained dough was cooled, spread with a rolling pin and rapped intocircles of 5 cm in diameter. Each circular piece was dried and baked tothereby give a senbei.

This senbei had a nice smell, a good taste, an excellent appearance andan excellent texture.

Example 29: Preparation of nouilles

150 g of soft wheat flour, 1.5 g of common salt, the yolk of an egg (18g), 45 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 4 and a halfof a whole egg were thoroughly kneaded together and the resultingmixture was allowed to and for four hours while covering with a moistcloth sheet. Then it was coated with a powder, spread over in athickness of 2 mm and cut into strips (8 cm×3 mm). These strips wereboiled with a sufficient amount of boiling water containing anappropriate amount of common salt for three minutes. Then they wereimmersed in water and washed with water. Subsequently these boiledstrips were fired with butter and seasoned with common salt, pepper andpowdery cheese to thereby give tasty nouilles.

Example 30: Preparation of Chinese noodles:

To 500 g of wheat flour, 100 g of the proteinous material as obtained inExample 2, 35 g of water and 6 g of brine were added to thereby give anoodle dough. After aging for a period, this dough was pressed and cutto thereby give Chinese noodles.

These Chinese noodles were allowed to stand day and night and a givenamount thereof were boiled for three minutes. Then these boiled Chinesenoodles were introduced into a cup containing a hot soup and taken byway of trial. As a result, the Chinese noodle had a characteristicflavor, an appropriate hardness, a smooth texture and a good taste.

Example 31: Preparation of batter for fried food

(1) 220 g of wheat flour was sieved twice.

(2) The yolk of an egg and common salt were introduced into a bowl and30 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 5 was addedthereto. Further milk was added by portions and the resulting mixturewas mixed to give a smooth material.

(3) Salad oil was added to the obtained mixture and the resultingmixture was covered with a wrapping film and aged for approximately twohours.

(4) 300 g of fillets of white-meat fish such as plaice, flatfish orhalibut, from which bones and skins had been removed, were cut intobites and slightly seasoned with salt and pepper.

(5) The albumen of an egg was introduced into a clean bowl and beaten.Then it was added to the mixture as obtained in (3) by portions tothereby give a batter.

(6) A clean oil was heated to a low-medium temperature. After wiping offthe moisture, the fish slices were skewered and coated with the batteras obtained in 5). Then the fish slices were slowly fried in the oilwhile turning over to thereby avoid scorching.

Thus fritters of white meat fish, which were superior to conventionalones in taste and flavor and had an excellent texture, were obtained.

Example 32: Preparation of batter for fried food

(1) To the yolk of an egg, as cold water as possible was added to giveone cup-full volume. The resulting mixture was thoroughly mixed.

(2) 220 g of soft wheat flour was sieved twice and air was introducedthereto. Then the wheat flour was combined with the mixture as obtainedin (1). 30 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 5 wasfurther added thereto and the resulting mixture was mixed to a ratherinsufficient extent to thereby give a batter.

(3) Two peasecods were stringed and fried while the temperature of afrying oil was somewhat low.

(4) The stems of 7 to 8 cm long of two ginger plants were cut crosswiseand coated with the batter as obtained in (2) together with two pickledginger slices. These materials were fried following the above peasecods.

(5) One or two broccoli clusters were coated with the batter as obtainedin (2) and fried in oil at 180° C.

(6) Two sardines, from which the internals and heads had been removed,were thinly coated with wheat flour and then with the batter as obtainedin (2) and fried in oil at 180° C.

The tempuras thus obtained had good body, an excellent flavor, a goodtaste and an excellent texture, compared with conventional ones.

Example 33: Preparation of white sauce

20 g of butter was molten in a pot and 25 g of soft wheat flour wasfried therewith for one to two minutes while avoiding scorching. Then200 cc of hot milk was added thereto by portions and the mixture wasthoroughly mixed to thereby prevent the formation of undissolved lumps.The proteinous material as obtained in Example 5 dissolved in 100 cc ofa soup was added thereto. The resulting mixture was seasoned with 1 g ofcommon salt and an appropriate amount of pepper and heated. When it cameto boil, the heating was continued over a slow fire for 30 minutes whileoccasionally stirring.

Thus a tasty white sauce having a characteristic flavor was obtained.

Example 34: Preparation of spaghetti sauce

25 g of onion and 10 g of carrot were cut into small pieces and friedwith 10 g of molten butter for two to three minutes. 40 g of theproteinous material as obtained in Example 6 and 10 g of wheat flourwere added thereto and the resulting mixture was further fried. Then 90cc of water, 15 cc of tomato ketchup, 1.5 g of salt, an appropriateamount of pepper and an appropriate amount of a synthetic flavoring wereadded thereto and the mixture was boiled until the volume thereof wasreduced by half.

Thus a tasty spaghetti sauce having a characteristic flavor wasobtained.

Example 35: Preparation of jangjang-men miso

150 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 9, 45 g ofakamiso (red bean pate), 16 g of soy sauce, 16 g of sugar and 100 cc ofwater were thoroughly mixed together. 45 g of oil was heated in a potand 28 g of Welsh onion pieces and 8 g of ginger pieces were friedtherewith. When the spices smelled good, the abovementioned mixture wasadded thereto. When the resulting mixture came to boil, it was cooked ona slow fire until the oil separated out.

Thus the whole of minced pork conventionally employed in the preparationof a jangjang-men miso was replaced with the proteinous material asobtained in Example 9. The product thus obtained had an excellent andcharacteristic taste.

Example 36: Preparation of mayonnaise-like food

20 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 5, 2 g of commonsalt, 3.0 g of seasonings, 2.0 g of spices and 0.3 g of tamarind gumwere dispersed and dissolved in 30 cc of water. 110 g of salad oil wasslowly added thereto and the resulting mixture was emulsified with ahomomixer. Then 30 g of vinegar was added thereto and the obtainedmixture was further emulsified. Thus a mayonnaise-like emulsified foodwas obtained.

This mayonnaise-like emulsified food had a characteristic and excellentflavor and showed a stable emulsification.

Example 37: Preparation of emulsified food

Red salmon bodies, from which the internals, skins and fins had beenremoved, were coarsely ground and then finely grounded into particles ofa size not more than 100 μ. 100 g of the material thus obtained, 30 g ofvinegar and 0.1 g of an acidic proteinase "Newlase" (mfd. by AmanoPharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) were introduced into atemperature-controllable mixer. The mixture was stirred therein at ahigh rate for 30 minutes while maintaining at 50° C. Subsequently thetemperature of the contents of the mixer was lowered to 15° C and 2 g ofcommon salt, 1 g of CMC, 10 g of pepper and 10 g of onion powder wereadded thereto. 190 g of salad oil was slowly added to the mixture, whilestirring the material at a high rate again to thereby give amayonnaise-like food.

This emulsified food had a smooth texture and a good taste and suitablein the preparation of, for example, vegetable salad.

Example 38: Preparation of dressing-like food

6 g of corn starch, 1.5 g of tapioka, 34 g of 5% apple vinegar, 8.0 g ofsugar, 2.5 g of common salt and 20 g of water were heated together whilestirring to thereby give a starch paste. After cooling, the starch pastewas homogenized together with 40 g of the proteinous material asobtained in Example 1, 3.0 g of common salt, 10 g of sugar and 1.0 g ofmustard powder. Then salad oil was slowly added thereto, whileemulsifying the resulting mixture by stirring to thereby give adressing-like food.

This emulsified food had a characteristic flavor and a good taste andshowed a stable emulsification.

Example 39: Preparation of dressing-like food

Codfish bodies, from which the internals, skins and fins had beenremoved, were coarsely ground and then finely ground into particles of asize not more than 100 μ. 100 g of the resulting material, 30 g ofvinegar and 0.1 g of an acidic proteinase "Denapsin 2P" (mfd. by NagaseK.K.) were introduced into a temperature-controllable mixer and stirredat a high rate for 30 minutes while maintaining at 50° C. Then thetemperature of the contents of the mixer was lowered to 15° C and 20 gof corn starch, 3 g of common salt, 5 g of pepper and 20 g of parsleypieces were added thereto. The resulting mixture was homogenized and 150g of salad oil was slowly added thereto while stirring the mixture at ahigh rate again. Thus a salad dressing-like emulsified food wasobtained.

This emulsified food had a smooth and good flavor and was suitable inthe preparation of vegetable salad.

Example 40: Preparation of terrine

500 g of frozen ground Alaska pollack meat (SA) was ground with a silentcutter while adding 10 g of common salt thereto. Five minutesthereafter, 1200 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 9,600 g of whole eggs, 300 cc of milk and 800 cc of fresh cream were addedthereto. Then the resulting mixture was kneaded for ten minutes tothereby give 3710 g of a farce. To 1000 g of the farce thus obtained,500 g of small blocks of raw salmon, 2 g of common salt and 1 g of whitepepper were added. The obtained mixture was homogenized, introduced intoa mold and steamed as such in an oven at 170° C. for 20 minutes tothereby give 1410 g of a terrine.

This terrine was satisfactory in the appearance, texture and taste andhad a fine and smooth texture and a good taste.

Example 41: Preparation of terrine

500 g of frozen ground Alaska pollack meat (SA) was ground with a silentcutter while adding 10 g of common salt thereto. Five minutesthereafter, 1200 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 5,600 g of whole eggs, 300 cc of milk and 800 cc of fresh cream were addedthereto. Then the resulting mixture was kneaded for ten minutes tothereby give 3710 g of a farce. To 1000 g of the farce thus obtained,500 g of boiled and strained carrot, 2 g of common salt and 1 g of whitepepper were added. The obtained mixture was homogenized, introduced intoa mold and steamed as such in an oven at 170° C. for 20 minutes tothereby give 1410 g of a terrine.

This terrine was satisfactory in the appearance, texture and taste andhad a fine and smooth texture and a good taste.

Example 42: Preparation of mousse

200 g of frozen ground Alaska pollack meat (SA) and 100 g of water wereground with a silent cutter while adding 6 g of common salt thereto.Five minutes thereafter, 400 g of the proteinous material as obtained inExample 6, 400 g of albumen, 200 cc of fresh cream and 120 g of smallscallop blocks were added thereto. Then the resulting mixture waskneaded until it became homogeneous. The resulting mixture wasintroduced into a mold and steamed as such in an oven at 200° C. for 20minutes to thereby give 930 g of a mousse.

The obtained mousse was taken by ten panelists by way of trial togetherwith sauce Americane. As a result, the appearance, texture and tastethereof were highly evaluated.

Example 43: Preparation of quenelle

200 cc of milk and 50 g of butter were heated together in a pot. Whenthe butter was molten and the milk was ready to boil, 100 g of wheatflour was added thereto at once. The resulting mixture was vigorouslystirred with a wood spatula until it formed a mass. Then the dough wasdried on a moderate fire while stirring until a thin film was formed onthe bottom of the pot. The dough was introduced into a bowl and 100 g ofbeaten eggs were added thereto by portions while stirring the dough witha wood spatula. After homogenizing the dough with the eggs, the obtainedpanade was allowed to stand in a cool place. 300 g of frozen groundAlaska pollack meat was ground with a silent cutter while adding 5.4 gof common salt thereto. Five minutes thereafter, 700 g of the proteinousmaterial as obtained in Example 4, 200 g of small shrimp pieces, 450 gof the abovementioned panade and 200 cc of fresh cream were addedthereto and thoroughly mixed together. The kneaded material was formedwith a large spoon and dropped into a sufficient amount of boilingwater. The dough, which once went down to the bottom and then came tothe surface again, was cooked for five minutes and then cooled in coldwater to thereby give 1670 g of quenelles.

These quenelles were taken by ten panelists by way of trial togetherwith sauce Americane. As a result, the appearance, texture and tastethereof were evaluated as satisfactory.

Example 44: Preparation of Chinese corn soup

50 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 8 was combinedwith a small amount of ginger extract and 10 cc of sake. 230 g of a soupand 225 g of creamy sweet corn were heated in a pot and seasoned withsalt and sake. Then 5 g of potato starch dissolved in 200 cc of waterwas added thereto under stirring. Slightly beaten albumen was added tothe mixture as prepared above and roughly mixed. The resulting mixturewas added to the heated material and quickly stirred. When the albumenwas cooked, the heating was stopped.

Thus a Chinese corn soup wherein the taste of the proteinous material ofthe present invention matched with the flavor of corn was obtained.

Example 45: Preparation of baby food

30 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 5, 50 g cf aroughly drained grated radish, 6 cc of soy sauce, 6 cc of mirin and 70cc of a soup stock, which had been preliminarily prepared, were steamedin a lidded pot on a relatively slow fire. When the material came toboil, an egg may be dropped therein, if required, to thereby give a foodof an excellent appearance.

Thus an excellent baby food having the taste of the proteinous materialof the present invention and a smooth texture was obtained.

Example 46: Preparation of well-cooked upon noodles

40 g of boiled upon noodles were washed with running water to therebymake the surface nonsticky. Then these noodles were quickly washed withhot water and cut into small pieces. Separately, 10 g of spinach wasthoroughly boiled, drained and cut into pieces. The boiled noodles weresufficiently cooked in 100 cc of a soup stock and 30 g of the proteinousmaterial as obtained in Example 7 and the abovementioned spinach wereadded thereto. The resulting mixture was quickly cooked and seasonedwith 5 cc of soy sauce.

The well-cooked upon noodles thus obtained had an excellent tastewherein the taste and smooth texture of the proteinous material of thepresent invention were fully achieved.

Example 47: Preparation of meat loaf

30 g of loaf bread, 50 g of the proteinous material as obtained inExample 4, 300 g of minced beef, 30 g of onion, 50 g of egg, 4.4 g ofsalt and a small amount of pepper and a synthetic flavoring were mixedtogether and formed into a semicylindrical shape on a moist cloth. Thenthe product was placed on an oil-coated plate and 8 g of butter wasplaced thereon. The material was roasted at 180° C. for 25 minutes whilepouring the exuding gravy thereon to thereby make the material glossy.

Thus a meat loaf excellent in the appearance and taste was obtained.

Example 48: Preparation of fish meat sausage

1000 g of frozen ground fish meat of grade B was ground with a silentcutter, while adding 700 g of the proteinous material as obtained inExample 1, 200 g of lard, 200 g of gelatin, 70 g of common salt, 5 g ofPolygamy W(a natural flavoring), 300 g of corn starch, 2 g of a 1%solution of Red Colorant No. 106 and 0.8 g of a 1% solution of YellowColorant No. 5 were added thereto in a conventional manner understirring. After thoroughly stirring, the mixture was subjected to acasing treatment in 80-g portions and pasteurized in boiling water tothereby give fish meat sausages.

These fish meat sausages had a smooth texture which was never observedin conventional ones.

Example 49: Preparation of konnyaku

70 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 6 was added to350 ml of water and thoroughly stirred. 10 g of konjak flour was addedthereto while slowly stirring. Then the mixture was covered and allowedto stand for approximately one hour to thereby sufficiently swell thekonjak flour. Then the mixture was vigorously stirred while maintainingthe temperature thereof at 70 to 80° C. to thereby sufficiently dissolvethe konjak flour. 25 cc of a 2.5% solution of calcium hydroxide wasadded thereto and the mixture was quickly stirred, poured into anappropriate container and formed therein. When the formed mixture wassufficiently solidified, it was taken out from the container and heatedin water at approximately 90° C. for 30 minutes or longer, i.e.,leached, to thereby give a konnyaku.

This product was tasty.

Example 50: Preparation of konnyaku

10 g of konjak flour was added to 350 ml of water by portions whileslowly stirring. Then the mixture was covered and allowed to stand forapproximately one hour to thereby sufficiently swell the konjak flour.Then the mixture was vigorously stirred while maintaining thetemperature thereof at 70 to 80° C. to thereby sufficiently dissolve thekonjak flour. Then 70 g of the proteinous material as obtained inExample 4 was added thereto and the mixture was thoroughly homogenized.25 cc of a 2.5% solution of calcium hydroxide was added thereto and themixture was quickly stirred, poured into an appropriate container andformed therein. When the formed mixture was sufficiently solidified, itwas taken out of he container and heated in water at approximately 90°C. for 30 minutes or longer, i.e., leached, to thereby give a konnyaku.

This product was tasty.

Example 51: Preparation of tofu-like food

To 100 g of separated soybean protein, 200 g of refined rapeseed oil and400 g of water were added and thoroughly emulsified by mixing to therebygive a curd-type product. To 100 g of frozen ground Alaska pollack meat,1 100 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 1 was added.Further 2 g of common salt was added thereto and thoroughly mixed. Tothe resulting mixture, the abovementioned curd-type product was addedand mixed. Further 50 g of albumen and 100 g of water were added theretoand the obtained mixture was homogenized. After degassing, the mixturewas introduced into a mold and aged at 85 to 90° C. for 30 minutes tothereby give a tofu-like food.

This tofu-like food was similar to a white kinugoshi-tofu ad showed agood taste when taken either in a cold or boiled state.

Example 52: Preparation of fried egg

To 100 g of whole eggs, 2 g of the proteinous material as obtained inExample 4, 1 g of common salt, 20 g of water and 3 g of starch wereadded and thoroughly stirred. The resulting mixture was treated in aconventional manner to thereby give a fried egg.

This fried egg has a characteristic flavor which was never observed inconventional ones and was highly tasty compared with that containing noproteinous material of the present invention.

Example 53: Preparation of Bavarian

10 g of a gelatin powder and 50 ml of water were introduced into a potand the gelatin powder was allowed to swell for ten minutes. Then 60 ofsugar and 30 g of yolk were added thereto and the mixture was stirred.200 ml of milk and 50 g of the proteinous material as obtained inExample 4 were heated in another pot and then slowly added to thegelatin mixture while continuously stirring the mixture over a slowfire. When the yoke was cooked, the heating was stopped and anappropriate amount of vanilla essence was added thereto. The mixture wascooled until it became somewhat viscous. Separately 80 g of fresh creamand 10 g of sugar were gently beaten in a cold bowl on an ice-water bathat 5° C. When the fresh cream was gradually hardened, the viscous jellyas prepared above was added thereto and the mixture was quickly stirred.Fresh salad oil was applied onto a jelly mold to which the stirredBavarian was poured. After solidifying by cooling, the Bavarian wastaken out of the mold and placed on a dish.

The Bavarian thus obtained was smooth and had a mild and characteristicflavor. It was tasty compared with those containing no proteinousmaterial of the present invention.

Example 54: Preparation of custard pudding

45 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 9, 100 g of waterand 10 g of sugar were mixed together and heated to 60° C. Separately 30g of whole eggs was mixed with 10 g of sugar in a bowl and the resultingmixture was slowly added to the heated mixture as described above understirring. A small amount of vanilla essence was added thereto and themixture was strained into a pudding mold containing a small amount ofcaramel sauce. Then it was placed on an iron plate, to which hot waterwas poured, and baked in an oven at 150° C.

The custard pudding thus obtained was not coarse but smooth and had agood taste.

Example 55: Preparation of cheese-like product

130 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 9 was introducedinto an Agihomomixer (mfd. by Tokushukikako K.K.). Natural cheese (25 gof Cheddar cheese and 35 g of Gouda cheese) ground with a mincer, 0.5 gof sodium polyphosphate and 0.2 g of sodium pyrophosphate, which wereemployed for accerelating melting, 0.4 g of a fungicide and a smallamount of cheese flavor were added thereto and the resulting mixture waskneaded. The mixture was stirred at 80° C. and 35 mm Hg and molten byheating to thereby give a product in the form of a paste. This productwas poured into a mold and cooled to thereby give a product which had asmooth texture and a touch similar to that of a commercially availableprocessed cheese.

Example 56: Preparation of hamburger steak

To 100 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 6, 100 g ofground fish meat, 2 g of common salt and 2 g of a flavoring were added.The resulting mixture was kneaded and formed into a plate of 1 cm inthickness. Then it was placed on a pan and steamed at a temperature of85 to 90° C. Then it was slowly frozen in a refrigerator at -25° C.

The frozen plate material was cut into strips of 1 mm in width. Thenthese strips were further cut into flakes with a silent cutter (mfd. byYasui Tekkosho K.K.) to thereby give scallop flakes.

Separately 1 g of common salt was added to 50 g of ground fish meat andthe mixture was stirred. Then 50 g of the proteinous material asobtained in Example 6, 20 g of water, 20 g of onion pieces, 20 g ofbread crumbs and 1 g of pepper were added thereto and thoroughly mixed.

30 g of the mixture thus obtained was blended with 25 g of the scallopflakes as prepared above and formed into a flat oval. Then this productwas beaten with both hands several times to thereby harden the meat andadjust the shape. Subsequently it was fried in a frying pan. Thus ahamburger steak-like food having a good taste and a preferable eatingtexture was obtained.

Example 57: Preparation of nugget

To 100 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 1, 100 g ofground fish meat, 20 g of thermally gelling soybean protein, 10 g ofalbumen powder, 2 g of common salt and 2 g of a flavoring were added andthe mixture was formed into a plate.

This material was steamed at 100° C. for 30 minutes, cooled and slowlyfrozen in a refrigerator at -25° C.

Then it was cut into fibers of 1 mm in width with a cutter (mfd. byKawamoto Seisakusho K.K.) and then into flakes with a silent cutter(mfd. by Yasui Tekkosho K.K.) to thereby give salmon flakes.

Separately 100 g of ground fish meat was blended with 150 g of theproteinous material as obtained in Example 1, 1 g of common salt, 2 g ofa flavoring, 20 g of an onion paste and 2 g of pepper and thoroughlymixed. To 20 g of the resulting mixture, 30 g of the salmon flakes asobtained above was added and formed into a nugget. Then it was coatedwith a powder and fried in oil at 180 to 190° C. to thereby give anugget-like food having a good taste and an excellent eating texture.

Example 58: Preparation of nugget

To 100 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 3, 20 g ofthermally gelling soybean protein, 5 g of albumen powder, and 10 g ofthermally gelling whey protein were added and the mixture was formedinto a plate. This material was steamed at 100° C. for 30 minutes,cooled and slowly frozen in a refrigerator at -25° C.

Then it was cut into fibers of 1 mm in width with a cutter (mfd. byKawamoto Seisakusho K.K.) and then into flakes with a silent cutter(mfd. by Yasui Tekkosho K.K.) to thereby given short-necked clam flakes.

Separately 100 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 3,100 g of ground fish meat, 5 g of albumen powder, 2 g of common salt, 2g of a flavoring, 0.1 g of a short-necked clam flavor and 1 g of pepperwere mixed together.

To 50 g of the resulting mixture, 50 g of the short-necked clam flakesas obtained above was added and formed into a nugget. Then it was coatedwith a powder and fried in oil at 180 to 190° C to thereby give anugget-like food having a good taste and an excellent eating texture.

Example 59: Preparation of scallops-like food

100 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 6, 100 g of theproteinous material as obtained in Example 5, 50 g of thermally gellingsoybean protein, 10 g of albumen powder, 50 g of thermally gelling wheyprotein, 2 g of common salt, 5 g of a flavoring and 0.2 g of a scallopflavor were mixed together and the resulting mixture was formed into aplate. This material was steamed at 100° C. for ten minutes, cooled andslowly frozen in a refrigerator at -25° C.

Then it was cut into fibers of 1 mm in width with a cutter (mfd. byKawamoto Seisakusho K.K.) to thereby give a fibrous scallop-likeproduct.

Separately, 100 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 6,100 g of ground fish meat, 2 g of common salt, 1 g of a scallop flavorand 5 g of a flavoring were thoroughly mixed together.

The obtained mixture was placed on a cloth and spread into a plate of 2mm in thickness. The fibrous scallop-like product was placed thereon andwrapped therewith. Thus a wrapped-in type food of 3 cm in diameter and20 cm in length was obtained.

This product was steamed at 85 to 90° C., cooled and cut into pieces of2 cm in length. Thus a scallops-like food having a good taste, anappropriate hardness and an excellent texture was obtained.

The following Examples will be given to illustrate the application ofsardines rich in fats as the starting fish bodies.

Example 60

Sardine bodies, from which the internals, skins and fins had beenremoved, were heated to 95° C. with a steam for 30 minutes and thencoarsely ground with a chopper (mfd. by Hanaki Seisakusho K.K.).

To the coarsely ground minced sardine meat thus obtained, twice as muchas the sardine meat of water at 50° C. was added. The mixture was slowlypoured into the inlet of a dacanter (mfd. by Tomoe Kogyo K.K.) at a flowrate of 2.0 t/hr to thereby separate most of the fats. The flakes thusobtained contained 56% by weight of moisture and not more than 3% byweight of the fats.

On the other hand, the separated mixture of fish oil and fish extractwas continuously centrifuged to thereby further divide the same intofish oil, fish extract and a cake.

Said flakes and said cake were introduced into a mixing tank (mfd. bySatake Seisakusho K.K.). Then said fish extract was added thereto insuch an amount as to give a moisture content of 80% by weight and theresulting mixture was stirred.

The mixture was fed into a mass colloider (mfd. by Masuko SeisakushoK.K.; a fine-grinding device) via a screw pump and finely groundtherewith twice to thereby adjust the particle size, in particular, thatof fish bones to 80 μ or less.

The finely ground fish meat containing bones was introduced into anenzymatic decomposition tank (mfd. by Stefan) and vitamin E was addedthereto in such an amount as to give a concentration of 500 ppm based onthe fat component in the aimed final product. The mixture was stirred ata low rate while elevating the temperature thereof to 50° C. by runningwarm water at 80° C. through the jacket. When this temperature reached50° C., the temperature of the water running through the jacket wasadjusted to 50° C. and 0.05% of a proteinase "Amano A" (mfd. by AmanoPharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) dissolved in a small amount of distilled waterwas added to the mixture. After the completion of the addition, themixture was stirred at a high rate and maintained for 30 minutes. Thenthe temperature of the material was rapidly elevated to 75° C. byrunning warm water at 80° C. through the jacket to thereby inactivatethe enzyme.

The obtained product was in the form of a paste containing 80% by weightof moisture and not more than 2% by weight of fats. Water-solubleproteins contained therein amounted to 32% by weight based on the totalproteins contained therein. Peptides of 40,000 to 70,000 in molecularweight amounted to 85% by weight based on the total peptides exceptwater-soluble ones and amino acids.

This product was pasteurized with an On-reiter (mfd. by SakuraSeisakusho K.K.) at 100° C. for ten minutes. The general bacterial countthereof was not more than 300 cells/g.

After the pasteurization, the producer was packed in 5-kg portions witha packing machine and frozen and stored in a refrigerator at -30° C.

Separately, the pasteurized product was dried with a drum dryer at 70°C. and powdered to thereby give a powdery product.

Example 61

Flakes containing 55% by weight of moisture and 2.5% by weight of fats,which was obtained by the same procedure as the one described in Example60 by using a decanter, was introduced into an enzymatic decompositiontank similar to that of Example 60. Then it was stirred at a low ratewhile elevating the temperature thereof to 50° C. by running warm waterat 80° C. thorough the jacket. When the temperature of the materialreached 50° C., the temperature of the warm water running through thejacket was adjusted to 50° C. Then 0.05% by weight portions ofproteinase "Amano A" and "Protin AC-10" (mfd. by Daiwa Kasei K.K.), eachdissolved in a small amount of distilled water, were added to themixture. Further vitamin E was added thereto in such an amount as togive a concentration of 500 ppm based on the fat component of ht aimedfinal product. After the completion of the addition, the mixture wasstirred at a high rate and maintained for 30 minutes. Then thetemperature of the material was rapidly elevated to 75° C. by runningwarm water at 80° C. through the jacket to thereby inactivate theenzymes.

This material was fed into a mass colloider via a screw pump and finelyground therewith twice to thereby adjust the particle size, inparticular, that of the fish bones to 80 μ or less.

Water-soluble proteins contained in the obtained product amounted to 38%by weight based on the total proteins contained therein. Peptides of40,000 to 70,000 in molecular weight amounted to 73% by weight based onthe total peptides except water-soluble ones and amino acids.

This product was pasteurized with an On-reiter at 100° C. for tenminutes. The general bacterial count thereof was not more than 300cells/g.

After the pasteurization, the product was packed with a packing machinein 5-kg portions and frozen and stored in a refrigerator at -30° C.

Separately the pasteurized product was spray-dried by blowing a hot airstream at 180°C. from a spray dryer thereto to thereby give a powderyproduct of a moisture content of 4% by weight.

Example 62

Flakes containing 60% by weight of moisture and 2% by weight of fat as,which were obtained by the same procedure as the one described inExample 60 by using a dacanter, were introduced into a mixing tank. Thenwater was added thereto in such an amount as to give a moisture contentof 80% by weight. The resulting mixture was mixed. The mixture was thenfed into a mass colloider via a screw pump and finely ground therewithtwice to thereby adjust a particle size, in particular, that of the fishbones to 80 μ or less.

Separately, a lactic acid bacterium (Streptococcus lactis) wasinoculated into a sterilized 10% by weight aqueous solution of skim milkand cultured at 37° C. for 24 hours to thereby give a starter.

The finely ground mixture of fish meat with fish bones was introducedinto an enzymatic decomposition tank, similar to that of Example 60.Then it was stirred at a low rate, while running warm water through thejacket to thereby elevate the temperature of the material to 35° C. Whenthe temperature reached 35° C., the temperature of the warm waterrunning through the jacket was adjusted to 35° C. Then 0.03% by weightof a proteinase "Amano A" dissolved in a small amount of distilled waterand 10% by weight of the above lactic acid bacterium starter were addedto the mixture. After the completion of the addition, the mixture wasstirred at a low rate for ten minutes and then allowed to stand foreight hours, thus simultaneously fermenting the same and treating thesame with the enzyme.

This product was pasteurized with an On-reiter at 100° C. for tenminutes. The general bacterial count thereof was not more than 300cells/g.

Water-soluble proteins contained in the product amounted to 32% by wightbased on the total proteins contained therein. Peptides of 40,000 to70,000 in molecular weight amounted to 60% by weight based on the totalpeptides except water-soluble ones and amino acids.

After the pasteurization, the product was packed in 5-kg portions with apacking machine and frozen and stored in a refrigerator at -30° C.

Example 63

Sardine bodies, from which the internals, skins and heads had beenremoved, were treated with a chopper (mfd. by Hanaki Seisakusho K.K.)twice to thereby give a minced meat.

To one part by weight of the coarsely ground sardine mince, two parts byweight of warm water at 45° C. was added. The resulting mixture wasslowly poured into the inlet of a decanter (mfd. by Tomoe Kogyo K.K.) ata flow rate of 2.0 t/hr to thereby separate most of the fats. Thusflakes containing 55% by weight of moisture and not more than 3% byweight of the fats were obtained.

On the other hand, the separated mixture of fish oil with a fish extractwas treated with a continuous centrifuge (mfd. by De Laval) to therebydivide the same into the fish oil, the fish extract and a cake.

The flakes and the cake were treated in the same manner as the onedescribed in Example 60.

Example 64

Sardine bodies, from which the internals had been removed, were treatedwith a chopper (mfd. by Hanaki Seisakusho) twice to thereby give aminced meat.

To one part by weight of the coarsely ground sardine mince, three partsby weight of warm water at 37° C. was added. The resulting mixture wasslowly poured into the inlet of a decanter (mfd. by Tomoe Kogyo K.K.) ata flow rate of 1.5 t/hr to thereby separate the fats. After repeatingthis procedure twice, flakes containing 53% by weight of moisture andnot more than 2% by weight of the fats were obtained.

On the other hand, the separated mixture of fish oil with a fish extractwas treated with a continuous centrifuge (mfd. by De Laval) to therebydivide the same into the fish oil, the fish extract and a cake.

The flakes and the cake were treated in the same manner as the onedescribed in Example 61.

Example 65

Sardine bodies, from which the internals, skins and heads had beenremoved, were coarsely ground with a chopper (mfd. by Hanaki SeisakushoK.K.).

To the coarsely ground sardine mince, the same weight of warm water at40° C. was added. The resulting mixture was slowly poured into the inletof a decanter (mfd. by Tomoe Kogyo K.K.) at a flow rate of 1.5 t/hr tothereby separate most of the fats. After repeating this procedure twice,flakes containing 55% by weight of moisture and not more than 1% byweight of the fats were obtained.

These flakes were introduced into a double-wall mixing tank providedwith a stirrer (mfd. by Satake Seisakusho K.K.) and water was addedthereto in such an amount as to give a moisture content of 80% byweight. The resulting mixture was stirred.

Then the temperature of the bone-containing sardine meat was elevated to50° C. by running warm water at 50° C. between the walls. 0.05% byweight of a proteinase "Amano A" (mfd. by Amano Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd.) dissolved in a small amount of distilled water was added thereto.Further vitamins E and C were added thereto in such amounts as to giveconcentrations of 500 ppm and 200 ppm, respectively, based on the fatcomponent in the aimed final product.

The obtained mixture was fed into a mass colloider (mfd. by MasukoSeisakusho K.K.; a fine-grinding device) via a screw pump and finelyground therewith twice to thereby adjust the particle size, inparticular, that of the fish bones, to 80 μ or less. During this period,the temperature of the material was maintained at 50 to 55° C. 30minutes were taken from the addition of the enzymes to the component ofthis treatment.

The obtained product was in the form of a paste containing 80% by weightof moisture and not more than 1% by weight of fats. Water-solubleproteins contained in the product amounted to 30% by weight based on thetotal proteins contained therein. Peptides of 40,000 to 70,000 inmolecular weight amounted to 70% by weight based on the total peptidesexcept water-soluble ones and amino acids.

This product was immediately heated with an On-reiter (mfd. by SakuraSeisakusho K.K.) at 100° C. for ten minutes, thus simultaneouslyinactivating the enzyme and pasteurizing the product. The pasteurizedproduct showed a general bacterial count not more than 300 cells/g.

After the pasteurization, the product was packed with a packing machinein 5-kg portions and frozen and stored in a refrigerator at -30° C.

Separately, the pasteurized product was dried with a drum dryer at 70°C. and finely ground to thereby give a powdery product.

Example 66

Sardine bodies, from which the internals and heads had been removed,were opened, thoroughly washed and coarsely ground with a chopper (mfd.by Hanaki Seisakusho K.K.),.

To the coarsely ground sardine mince, thrice as much warm water at 40°C. was added. The resulting mixture was slowly poured into the inlet ofa decanter (mfd. by Tomoe Kogyo K.K.) at a flow rate of 1.7 t/hr tothereby separate most of the fats. After repeating this procedure twice,flakes containing 56% by weight of moisture and not more than 1% byweight of the fats were obtained.

These flakes were introduced into a double-wall mixing tank providedwith a stirrer (mfd. by Satake Seisakusho K.K.). Then 5% by weight of acoculture medium of lactic acid bacteria (Streptococcus lactis andStreptococcus cremoris), which had been cultured in a skim milk medium,and 1% by weight of skim milk were added thereto. Simultaneouslyvitamins E and C were added thereto in such amounts as to giveconcentrations of 500 ppm and 200 ppm, respectively, based on the fatcomponent of the aimed final product. Further water was added thereto insuch an amount as to give a moisture content of the resulting mixture of80% by weight.

Then the temperature of the bone-containing sardine meat was elevated to40° C. by running warm water at 40° C. between the walls.

The obtained mixture was fed into a mass colloider via a screw pump andfinely ground therewith twice to thereby adjust the particle size, inparticular, that of the fish bones, to 80 μ or less.

Water-soluble proteins contained in the product amounted to 30% byweight based on the total proteins contained therein. Peptides of 40,000to 70,000 in molecular weight amounted to 50% by weight based on thetotal peptides except water-soluble ones and amino acids. This productcomprised 80% by weight of moisture and not more than 1% by weight offats. It showed no sardine odor and smelled good.

This product was immediately heated with an On-reiter (mfd., by SakuraSeisakusho K.K.) at 100° C. for ten minutes, thus simultaneouslyinactivating the enzyme and pasteurizing the product. The pasteurizedproduct showed a general bacterial count not more than 300 cells/g.

After the pasteurization, the product was packed with a packing machinein 5-kg portions and frozen and stored in a refrigerator at -30° C.

Separately, the pasteurized product was dried with a drum dryer at 70°C. and finely ground to thereby give a powdery product.

Example 67

Sardine bodies, from which the internals, skins and heads had beenremoved, were thoroughly washed and then coarsely ground with a chopper.

To one part by weight of the coarsely ground sardine minced meatcontaining the bones, three parts by weight of water at ambienttemperature was added. The resulting mixture was slowly poured into theinlet of a decanter (mfd. by tomoe Kogyo K.K.) at a flow rate of 1.5t/hr to thereby separate most of the fats. Afer repeating this proceduretwice, flakes containing 54% by weight of moisture and not more than 1%by wight of the fats were obtained.

These flakes were introduced into a double-wall mixing tank providedwith a stirrer (mfd. by Satake Seisakusho K.K.) and vitamins E and cwere added thereto in such amounts as to give concentrations of 500 ppmand 200 ppm, respectively, based on the fat component of the aimed finalproduct. Then the temperature of the mixture was elevated to 40° C. byrunning warm water at 40° C. between the walls. 5% by weight of a lacticacid bacterium (Streptococcus cremoris), which had been preliminarilycultured in a skim milk medium, was immediately added thereto togetherwith 0.03% by weight of a proteinase "Amano A" (mfd. by AmanoPharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) dissolved in a small amount of water. Theresulting mixture was stirred well and warm water at 40° C. was addedthereto to thereby adjust the moisture content of the mixture to 80% byweight.

After mixing, the obtained mixture was fed into a mass colloider via ascrew pump and finely ground therewith twice to thereby adjust theparticle size, in particular, that of the fish bones, to 80 μ or less.

The obtained product was in the forms of a paste which had no sardineodor but smelled good and contained 80% by weight of moisture and notmore than 1% by weight of the fats. Water-soluble proteins contained inthe product amounted to 32% by weight based on the total proteinscontained therein. Peptides of 40,000 to 70,000 in molecular weightamounted to 65% by weight based on the total peptides exceptwater-soluble ones and amino acids.

This product was immediately heated with an On-reiter at 100° C. for tenminutes, thus simultaneously inactivating the enzyme and pasteurizingthe product. The pasteurized product showed a general bacterial countnot more than 300 cells/g.

After the pasteurization, the product was packed with a packing machinein 5-kg portions and frozen and stored in a refrigerator at -30° C.

Separately, the pasteurized product was dried with a drum dryer at 70°C. and finely ground to thereby give a powdery product.

Example 68: Preparation of sardine slice product

600 g of the proteinous material in the form of a pale green paste asobtained in Example 60, 50 g of soybean protein powder, 20 g of powderygelatin, 100 g of sodium caseinate, 250 g of refined soybean oil, 20 gof sodium tartrate, 6 g of gum xanthan, 10 g of common salt, 1 g ofsodium glutamate, 1 g of pepper and 3.0 g of a flavoring were introducedinto an emulsifying pot (mfd. by Ohe Seisakusho K.K.) and stirredtherein at a low rate while evacuating and directly injecting a steaminto the jacket and into the pot. When the internal temperature reached50° C., the mixture was stirred at a high rate and the injection of thesteam into the pot was ceased. Then the stirring at a high rate wascontinued until the internal temperature reached 80° C. When theinternal temperature reached 80° C., the injection of the steam into thejacket and the evacuation were ceased. Then the lid of the emulsifyingpot was removed and the molten contents were transferred to a stainlessbucket.

The product was placed in the form of a bar on a wrapping film while itwas hot nd covered with the wrapping film. Then it was spread to form aplate of 2 mm in thickness and then the wrapping film was cut intosquares and folded. The material was cooled in a refrigerator to therebygive a sardine slice product in the form similar to a sliced cheese.

When used in, for example, sandwitch, this sardine slice product ofcarton type showed a sardine taste and a smooth and nice eating texture.

Example 69: Preparation of sardine bar product

500 g of the proteinous material in the form of a pale green paste asobtained in Example 61, 100 g of ground codfish meat, 20 g of soybeanprotein, 10 g of whey protein, 10 g of albumen powder and 2 g of commonsalt were thoroughly kneaded together in a Robot Coupe (mfd. by RobotCoupe). Then the kneaded material was extruded from a nozzle having agauzy tip into boiling water and solidified to thereby give a fibrouscomposition. On the other hand, 500 g of the proteinous material in theform of a pale green paste as obtained in Example 62, 200 g of groundcodfish meat, 2 g of common salt and 2 g of a flavoring were kneadedwith a Robot Coupe (mfd. by Robot Coupe) at a temperature of thematerial not higher than 10° C. The obtained mixture was spread onto amoist cloth in a thickness of approximately 3 mm. The fibrouscomposition as prepared above was placed thereon and wrapped therewith.Thus a product in the form of a bar containing the fibrous compositionas the core was obtained. Then the product on the cloth was steamed assuch at the boiling temperature for approximately 30minutes. After thecompletion of the steaming, a sardine bar product having an excellentsardine taste and containing 45 to 70% of sardine was obtained. Thisproduct was not coarse but smooth.

Example 70: Preparation of drink

100 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 62 wasintroduced into a beaker and 300 g of water, 15 g of sucrose and 1 g ofgum xanthan were added thereto. The resulting mixture was mixed with ahomomixer and pasteurized at 145° C. for three seconds. Then it wascooled to 10° C. and an appropriate amount of milk flavor was addedthereto to thereby give a drink. This drink had an appearance similar tothat of milk and a milky taste.

Example 71: Preparation of drink

100 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 62 wasintroduced into a beaker and 300 g of water, 15 g of sucrose and 2 g ofgum xanthan were added thereto. The resulting mixture was a mixed with ahomomixer and 200 g of milk was further added thereto to thereby give adrink. This drink had an excellent taste similar to that of milk.

Example 72: Preparation of drink

100 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 60 wasintroduced into a beaker and 360 g of water, 40 g of a fructose/glucosesolution, 0.5 g of gum xanthan and 3 g of CMC were added thereto. Afterhomogenizing the resulting mixture, 200 g of a vegetable juice wasfurther added thereto to thereby give a drink. This drink had a goodtaste.

Example 73: Preparation of cake

To 175 g of soft wheat flour, a small spoonful of cinnamon, a smallspoonful of sodium bicarbonate, a 1/4 small spoonful of salt and twosmall spoonfuls of baking powder were added and mixed. Separately, 150cc of salad oil and 140 g of sugar were thoroughly beaten in a bowl witha beater. Then two eggs and 140 g of the proteinous material as obtainedin Example 63 were added thereto and the resulting mixture wasthoroughly mixed. The former mixture was combined with the latter oneand mixed to thereby give a cake dough. This dough was poured into anoil-coated and powdered mold and baked in an oven an 160° C. for 40 to60 minutes to thereby give a cake.

This cake had an excellent appearance, a nice smell and a good taste.

Example 74: Preparation of crepe

To 350 cc of milk, a large spoonful of sugar and 30 g of butter wereadded and the resulting mixture was heated to 50 to 60° C. Separately,two eggs, 100 g of soft wheat flour and 50 g of the proteinous materialas obtained in Example 60 were thoroughly mixed together. To theresulting mixture, the former one was added by portions and mixed. Thenthe obtained mixture was strained and allowed to stand for 30 to 60minutes with covering with a strongly squeezed moist cloth. Then it wasfried in a frying pan to thereby give a crepe.

This crepe had an excellent appearance, a characteristic flavor, a nicesmell and a good taste.

Example 75: Preparation of Chinese karinto (fried dough cake)

To 50 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 64, two largespoonfuls of sugar, a small spoonful of salad oil and 50 cc of warmwater were added and the mixture was thoroughly mixed. Then 100 g ofsoft wheat flour was added thereto and the resulting mixture wasthoroughly kneaded and allowed to stand for approximately 30 minuteswith covering with a strongly squeezed moist cloth to thereby give adough. This dough was spread with a roll pin in a thickness of 5 mm andcut into strips of 8 mm in width and 15 cm in length. Two strips weretwisted together and fried in oil at 170° C for four to five minutes tothereby give a Chinese karinto.

This Chinese karinto had an excellent appearance, a nice smell and agood taste.

Example 76: Preparation of cheese stick

250 g of sieved hard wheat flour was introduced into a bowl. 25 g ofgrated cheese (processed cheese) was added thereto and the resultingmixture was thoroughly kneaded. Then a cavity was formed at the centerof the kneaded mixture and 13 g of live yeast dissolved in 50 cc of warmwater, a solution of a large spoonful of sugar and a small spoonful ofsalt in 50 cc of warm water and 50 g of the proteinous material asobtained in Example 60 were introduced therein. The obtained mixture waskneaded and 25 g of butter and 25 g of shortening were finally addedthereto. Then the mixture was fermented at 30° C. for 40 to 60 minutes,degassed and spread to form a rectangle (10 cm×25 cm). Then it wasequally divided into 10 to 12 portions with a skepper, allowed to standfor 15 minutes and formed into thin sticks. Each stick was folded in twoand twisted. These sticks were placed on an oven plate, fermented at 36to 38° C for 40 minutes and then baked in an oven at 190° C for 15 to 20minutes to thereby give cheese sticks.

These cheese sticks had an excellent appearance, a highly preferableflavor and a good taste.

Example 77: Preparation of pie

100 g of butter was rounded into thumb-sized pieces and gently mixedwith 100 g of wheat flour. 1.5 g of common salt and 30 g of theproteinous material as obtained in Example 62 were dispersed in coldwater and the resulting dispersion was poured onto the above mixture byportions to thereby form a dough. Then the dough was covered with astrongly squeezed moist cloth and allowed to stand for five minutes.Subsequently the dough was spread into a rectangle with a roll pin whileusing a coating powder and then folded in three. After repeating thisprocedure twice, the dough was covered with a strongly squeezed moistcloth and allowed to stand for a while. Then the dough was cut intopieces (5 cm×5 cm) and baked at 200° C. to thereby give a pie.

This pie had an excellent appearance, a characteristic flavor and a goodtaste.

Example 78: Preparation of spread

To 120 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 60, 2 g ofsodium caseinate, 8 g of common salt, 10 g of mustard, 20 g of gratedonion and a small amount of pepper were added and the resulting mixturewas thoroughly stirred. Then 100 ml of safflower oil was added theretounder stirring and the resulting mixture was roughly emulsified.Subsequently the mixture was stirred with a homomixer (mfd. by NipponKakoki K.K.) to thereby give an emulsified composition in the form of aspread.

When applied on bread, this product was highly spreadable and tasty.

Example 79: Preparation of emulsified fat for both topping and kneadingwith wheat flour

To 100 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 61, 60 g ofsalad oil was slowly added under stirring. The resulting mixture wasemulsified with a homomixer to thereby give an emulsified fatcomposition.

This emulsified fat composition was applied to the surface of a cookieor a bun prior to the baking. After the baking the cookie or bun showedan excellent gloss, a good color of baking and a nice taste.

Separately 10 g of the emulsified fat composition as obtained above and1 g of common salt dissolved in 40 cc of hot water were added to 100 gof wheat flour. The resulting mixture was thoroughly kneaded and wrappedwith a moist cloth. After allowing to stand for 30 minutes, a gyozacoating was prepared therefrom. Then gyozas were prepared by using thesame. The gyozas thus obtained had an excellent color of baking and agood taste.

Example 80: Preparation of arare

500 g of nonglutinous rice was washed with water, immersed in water overday and night and other steamed. 50 g of the proteinous material asobtained in Example 63 was added thereto and the mixture was kneadedwith a mixer to thereby give a dough. Then this dough was spread in athickness of 4 cm in a mold and dried. It was cut into squares, driedagain and roasted to thereby give arares.

These arares had an excellent appearance, a nice flavor and a goodtaste.

Example 81: Preparation of upon noodles

To 100 ml of water, a small spoonful (5 g) of common salt and 60 g ofthe proteinous material as obtained in Example 60 were added and themixture was thoroughly mixed. The mixture was added by portions onto 300g of sieved semihard wheat flour and strongly kneaded. Then the obtainedmixture was rounded, covered with a moist cloth and allowed to stand forapproximately two hours. Subsequently it was spread by using a coatingpowder and cut into strips to thereby give a hand-made upon-likeproduct. These udon noodles were boiled in a sufficient amount of waterand washed with water to thereby give udon noodles of a smooth texture.

The dried noodles obtained by drying these udon noodles similarly showeda good taste when boiled.

Example 82: Preparation of gnocchis

210 ml of milk and 50 g of butter were introduced into a pot and heated.When the mixture came to boil, 150 g of well-sieved soft wheat flour wasadded thereto at once. The mixture was quickly stirred with a woodpastula. When a glossy lump was formed, the heating was ceased and 80 gof the proteinous material as obtained in Example 61 and three eggs (150g) were added thereto. 1 g of nutmeg, 20 g of grated cheese and a smallamount of common salt were further added thereto and the mixture waskneaded. The obtained dough was introduced into a squeezing bag providedwith a round cap (1 cm).

The dough was squeezed from the bag into boiling water containing asmall amount of common salt to give a length of 3 cm and boiled thereinfor eight minutes. When the squeezed products came to the surface, theywere taken and strained. Then they were fried with butter in a fryingpan and seasoned with salt, pepper and cheese powder. Thus tastygnocchis were obtained.

Separately, the squeezed dough was fried in oil and seasoned with salt,pepper and cheese powder. This product was also tasty.

Example 83: Preparation of batter for fried food

(1) After removing the calyces, three eggplants were cut lengthwise andfurther cut into sticks of 1 cm in length. These sticks were leachedwith water.

(2) Seeds were removed from 300 g of a pumpkin with a spoon. Then thepumpkin was nonuniformly peeled and cut into sticks of 1 cm squaresimilar to the eggplants.

(3) 100 g of kidney beans were stringed and cut into two, if too long.

(4) After wiping off the moisture, the materials of (1) to (3) wereslightly seasoned with salt and pepper.

(5) An egg, salt, olive oil and water were mixed in a bowl. 175 g ofwheat flour was sieved therein and 25 g of the proteinous material asobtained in Example 60 was further added thereto. After gentle mixing, abatter was obtained.

(6) A frying oil was heated to a moderate temperature and each materialof (4) coated with the batter of (5) was fried therein until the corematerial was cooked and the fried food was crispy.

Thus Italian ate fried vegetables which were superior in the taste,flavor and texture to conventional ones were obtained.

Example 84: Preparation of sauce veloute

30 g of butter was molten in a pot and 35 g of soft wheat flour wasadded thereto and quickly stirred. The flour was thus fried until it wasslightly colored. Then 80 g of the proteinous material as obtained inExample 61 dissolved in 500 cc of water was slowly added thereto and theobtained mixture was homogenized by quickly stirring. 2 g of salt, anappropriate amount of pepper and a laurel leaf were added thereto andthe resulting mixture was cooked on a slow fire for 30 to 35 minutesunder stirring.

Thus a tasty sauce veloute having a characteristic flavor was obtained.

Example 85: Preparation of sauce tartar

To 75 g of mayonnaise, 75 g of the proteinous material as obtained inExample 60 was added. Further a half of a completely boiled egg, 10 g ofonion, 10 g of pickled cucumber and 2.5 g of parsely, each cut intosmall pieces, and a small amount of mustard paste were added thereto.The mixture thus obtained was homogenized.

Thus a tasty sauce tartar having a characteristic flavor was obtained.

Various tasty sauces each having a characteristic flavor may be preparedby using mayonnaise and the proteinous material as obtained in Example60 in a similar manner to the one as described above.

Example 86: Preparation of gravy for roasted meat

To 100 ml of soy sauce, 20 g of the proteinous material as obtained inExample 62, 35 ml of mirin, 23 g of sugar, 2 g of sodium glutamate, 4 gof a composite flavoring, 0.3 g of pepper, 3.5 g of onion paste, 15 g ofgarlic puree and 30 cc of warm water were added and the obtained mixturewas homogenized. Then 4 g of soybean oil was added thereto and themixture was mixed with a homomixer.

Thus a gravy which had an excellent flavor and was highly suitable for,e.g., roasted meat was obtained.

Example 87: Preparation of cooking food material

80 parts by weight of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 61was blended with 20 parts by weight of wheat flour and a small amount ofa flavoring. The resulting mixture was homogenized by kneading tothereby give a dough. This dough was allowed to stand for a while andthen treated in the following manners.

(a) Dumplings were formed from the dough and introduced into boilingwater.

(b) Dumplings were formed, spread flat and baked.

(c) Dumplings were formed, spread flat, coated with bread crumbs andfried in oil.

(d) Dumplings were formed and spread flat and vegetable fillings werewrapped therewith. The obtained material was steamed.

(e) The dough was formed into a croquette-like shape and fried in oil ata moderate temperature until it was scorched.

Each cooked food thus obtained had a characteristic flavor and textureand a good taste, compared with conventional ones.

Example 88: Preparation of mousse

200 g of frozen and ground Alaska pollack meat (SA) and 100 g of waterwere ground together with a silent cutter while adding 6 g of commonsalt thereto. Five minutes thereafter, 400 g of the proteinous materialas obtained in Example 63, 50 g of albumen, 200 cc of fresh cream and120 g of boiled and drained spinach were added thereto and the obtainedmixture was homogenized by kneading. The mixture was introduced into amold and steamed as such in an oven at 200° C for 20 minutes to therebygive 930 g of a mousse.

The obtained mousse was taken by way of trial by ten panelists togetherwith sauce Americane. As a result, the appearance, texture and taste ofthe product were highly evaluated.

Example 89: Preparation of cream soup

30 g of butter was molten in a pot and 50 g of onion pieces were friedtherewith. 40 g of wheat flour was added thereto and the frying wascontinued for additional two to three minutes. Then 150 g of theproteinous material as obtained in Example 61 dissolved in 1000 cc ofwater was added thereto. When the obtained mixture came to boil, themixture was cooked on a slow fire for 30 to 40 minutes. The materialthus obtained, which was to be used as a base, was diluted with 200 ccof water and seasoned with a small amount of salt, a small amount ofpepper and 100 cc cf fresh cream.

Thus a tasty cream soup having a characteristic flavor was obtained.

Example 90: Preparation of egg soup

400 cc of a soup stock was introduced into a pot, cooked over a fire andseasoned with 6 cc of soy sauce and a small amount of salt. When 3 g ofpotato starch dissolved in 10 cc of water became somewhat viscous, 20 gof the proteinous material as obtained in Example 60 and 50 g of a freshegg were thoroughly mixed together and added to the above soup through aholed spatula. When the mixture came to boil, the heating wasimmediately ceased.

Thus an egg soup having an excellent flavor wherein the taste of theproteinous material of the present invention matched well the taste ofthe egg was obtained.

Example 91: Preparation of gruel

150 cc of water or a soup stock was introduced into a pot and boiled.Then 50 g of cooked rice was quickly washed with hot water and addedthereto. Then the mixture was cooked and a small amount of common saltand 30 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 63 were addedthereto during the cooking. The heating was continued until the gruelcontained no soup. The gruel may be seasoned with soy sauce or miso, ifdesired.

Thus a highly tasty gruel having the taste and viscosity of theproteinous material of the present invention was obtained.

Example 92: Preparation of hamburger steak

12 g of loaf bread was finely divided and mixed with 15 g of theproteinous material as obtained in Example 60. To the obtained mixture,70 g of minced beef, 30 g of fried onion pieces, 12 g of egg, 1.2 g ofsalt, a small amount of pepper and a small amount of a syntheticflavoring were added. After thoroughly mixing, the obtained material wasformed into an oval and beaten with the right hand onto the left handseveral times to thereby harden the meat. After adjusting the shape, thematerial was fried in a frying pan.

The hamburger steak thus obtained had an excellent appearance and a goodtaste.

Example 93: Preparation of hamburger steak

To 100 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 60, 100 g ofground fish meat, 2 g of common salt and 2 g of a flavoring were added.The resulting mixture was kneaded and formed into a plate of 1 cm inthickness. Then it was placed on a pan and steamed at a temperature ofthe material of 85 to 90° C. Then it was slowly frozen in a refrigeratorat -25° C. The frozen plate was treated with a block cutter (mfd. byHanaki Seisakusho K.K.) and then with a silent cutter (mfd. by YasuiTekkosho K.K.) to thereby give sardine flakes.

Separately, 50 g of ground fish meat, 1 g of common salt, 50 g of theproteinous material as obtained in Example 60, 20 g of water, 50 g ofonion pieces, 20 g of bread crumbs and 1 g of pepper were thoroughlyblended together.

To the mixture thus obtained, 25 g of the sardine flakes were added andthe resulting mixture was formed into an oval. The oval material wasbeaten with both hands several times to thereby harden the meat,adjusted the shape and fried in a frying pan. The hamburger steak-likefood thus obtained had an excellent flavor and an appropriate hardness.Example 94: Preparation of kamaboko-like food

80 parts of frozen ground fish meat was agitated and milled at atemperature of the material of approximately -5 to -6° C. and two partsof common salt was added thereto at approximately 1° C. 20 parts of theproteinous material as obtained in Example 62, ten parts of starch, twoparts of a flavoring, ten parts of frozen albumen, five parts of sugar,five parts of mirin and five parts of water were added thereto whilecontinuing the stirring.

An appropriate amount of the mixture thus obtained was placed on akamaboko-plate, introduced into a retainer, allowed to stand at 40° C.for 40 minutes to thereby effect gelation, steamed at 98° C. for 40 to70 minutes and then cooled.

Thus a tasty kamaboko having a soft texture different from those ofconventional ones was obtained.

Example 95: Preparation of tofu

100 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 60 was added to500 ml of water and thoroughly mixed. 65 g of a soybean milk powder wasadded to the above mixture by portions. The obtained mixture was heatedunder stirring while avoiding scorching. After maintaining thetemperature of the mixture at 80 to 95° C. for several minutes, theheating was stopped. Then a solidifier (a gluconolactone preparation)was added thereto and stirred. The resulting material was quickly pouredinto an appropriate container and formed. When the formed material wassufficiently solidified, it was taken out of the container and leachedwith water. Thus a tofu was obtained.

This tofu was tasty.

Example 96: Preparation of Western style chawanmushi

To 100 g of eggs, 200 g of fresh cream, 50 ml of white wine, 10 g ofsugar and a small amount of garlic were added. The resulting mixture wasstirred without foaming. Then 50 g of canned crab flakes and 50 g of theproteinous material as obtained in Example 61 were added thereto. Theobtained material was introduced into five coffee cups and steamed at100° C. for 15 minutes. Separately 1 g of sodium caseinate, 40 g ofsalad oil and 100 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 61were introduced into a bowl and stirred at a high rate to thereby give aspread. This spread was uniformly placed on the steamed mixture in thecups, together with a lemon slice and parsely.

The Western style chawanmushi thus obtained had a smooth dough and agood taste. Further the spread was also smooth. This product had acharacteristic and good flavor compared with conventional onescontaining no proteinous material of the present invention.

Example 97: Preparation of wine jelly

40 g of gelatin was allowed to swell in water and then drained. 1000 mlof water, the above gelatin, 210 g of sugar and three lemon slices wereintroduced into a pot. Then the mixture was heated over a moderate firefor 30 minutes under continuously stirring with a wood spatula. When themixture came to boil, it was cooked over a slow fire and gently boiled.To the sugar jelly thus obtained, 100 g of the proteinous material asobtained in Example 62, 60 ml of red wine and 20 ml of lemon juice wereadded and thoroughly mixed. Then the mixture was heated for ten minutesin such a manner as not to come to boil. The obtained material waspoured into ten jelly molds and cooled. When solidified, it wastransferred onto a dish and decorated with beaten cream.

The jelly thus obtained was not coarse but smooth and tasty.

Example 98: Preparation of yogurt

100 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 62, 100 g ofwater and 10 g of skim milk was combined together and stirred withhomomixer to thereby give a homogeneous and somewhat viscous solution.This solution was heated to 50° C and 16 g of sugar was added thereto.Then it was pasteurized at 100° C. for 30 minutes and cooled to 37° C. 5g of a culture medium obtained by culturing Streptococcus thermophilus,Streptococcus lactis and Lactobacillus bulgaricus in a 10% skim milksolution was added to the mixture. The obtained material was introducedinto a sterilized yogurt bottle and covered with a paper lid. Then itwas fermented at 37° C. for seven hours and then allowed to stand at 5°C. for 12 hours. Thus a yogurt of a smooth texture having an acidity of0.8% was obtained.

Example 99: Preparation of cheese spread

200 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 61 wasintroduced into an Agihomomixer (mfd. by Tokushuki Kako K.K.). Thennatural cheese ground with a mincer (comprising 25 g of Cheddar cheeseand 25 g of Gouda cheese), 0.3 g of sodium polyphosphate and 0.2 g ofsodium pyrophosphate, which were employed for accerelating melting, 0.4g of a fungicide and a small amount of a cheese flavor were addedthereto. After kneading, the resulting mixture was stirred at a highrate and molten by heating to thereby give a mixture in the form of apaste. This paste was poured into a mold and cooled. Thus a producthaving a smooth texture similar to those of commercially available oneswas obtained.

Example 100: Preparation of nugget

To 100 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 61, 20 g ofthermally gelling soybean protein, 10 g of albumen powder, 20 g ofthermally gelling whey protein, 1 g of common salt and 2 g of aflavoring were added. The resulting mixture was formed into a plate andslowly frozen in a refrigerator at -25° C.

Then it was cut into fibers of 1 mm in width with a cutter (mfd. byKawamoto Seisakusho K.K.) and then into pieces with a silent cutter(mfd. by Yasui Tekkosho K.K.) to thereby give sardine flakes. On theother hand, 100 g of the proteinous material as obtained in Example 61,1 g of common salt, 2 g of a flavoring, 20 g of albumen powder and 10 gof whey protein were thoroughly mixed together.

To 100 g of the obtained mixture, 100 g of the sardine flakes were addedand the mixture was formed into nuggets. These nuggets were coated witha powder and fried in oil at 180 to 190° C. Thus a nugget-like foodhaving an excellent taste and eating texture was obtained.

Industrial Applicability

The process for producing a proteinous material of the present inventioncan exert the following effects.

(1) A highly nutritious proteinous material can be produced from fishbodies containing bones, from which the internals have been removedoptionally together with the heads and skins.

(2) A proteinous material having a small capability of gelation and richin nutrients such as calcium and iron can be obtained from fishes andshellfishes. The proteinous material may be utilized in various foodsunlike conventional fish meal which is available only in feeds.

(3) An undeteriorated fish oil can be obtained from fishes rich in fats.Further a proteinous material, which is highly available in variousfoods unlike conventional fish meal which is available only in feeds,can be obtained.

What is claimed is:
 1. A process for producing a proteinous materialwhich comprises coarsely grinding fish bodies including bones and/orshells, from which the internals had been removed optionally togetherwith heads and/or skins, and either (1) fermenting said coarsely groundfish bodies with an enzyme and/or a microorganism, inactivating saidenzyme and/or microorganism and then finely grinding the fermentedmaterial to give a particle size of bones and/or shells of 100μ or less;or (2) finely grinding said coarsely ground fish bodies to give aparticle size of bones and/or shells of 100μ or less, fermenting thesame with an enzyme and/or a microorganism, and then inactivating saidenzyme and/or microorganism; or (3) finely grinding said coarsely groundfish bodies to give a particle size of bones and/or shells of 100 μ orless while fermenting the same with an enzyme and/or a microorganism andthen inactivating said enzyme and/or microorganism.
 2. A process forproducing a proteinous material as set forth in claim 1, wherein saidfish bodies contain not more than 20% by weight of fats.
 3. A processfor producing a proteinous material which comprises coarsely grindingfish bodies including bones and/or shells, from which the internals hadbeen removed optionally together with heads and/or skins, removing fatas from the coarsely ground fish bodies, and either (1) fermenting saidcoarsely ground fish bodies with an enzyme and/or a microorganism,inactivating said enzyme and/or microorganism and then finely grindingthe fermented material to give a particle size of bones and/or shells of100μ or less; or (2) finely grinding said coarsely ground fish bodies togive a particle size of bones and/or shells of 100μ or less, fermentingthe same with an enzyme and/or a microorganism and then inactivatingsaid enzyme and/or microorganism; or (3) finely grinding said coarselyground fish bodies to give a particle size of bones and/or shells of100μ or less while fermenting the same with an enzyme and/or amicroorganism and then inactivity said enzyme and/or microorganism.
 4. Aprocess for producing a proteinous material as set forth in claim 3,wherein the removal of the fats is carried out until the fat content ofthe coarsely ground and defatted fish bodies is reduced to 20% by weightor less.
 5. A process for producing a proteinous material as set forthin claim 3, wherein said fish are sardines.
 6. A process for producing aproteinous material as set forth in claim 4, wherein the removal of thefats is carried out until the fat content of the coarsely ground anddefatted fish bodies is reduced to 5% by weight or less.